Editor’s Note: Change Your Mindset is a monthly series from CNN’s Mindfulness, But Better team. We talk to experts about how things can be done differently to live a better life.
The wizard who once gave you goosebumps turns into the familiar face at the breakfast table. The flashy French door refrigerator you were looking at on the showroom floor now matches your other appliances. The fire engine red convertible that gave you goosebumps during the test drive has now turned into an ordinary drive.
The same thing happens with things that once bothered you: At first you choke on the chlorine cloud in your pool, but soon you barely notice the smell. Your boss is yelling, but now his barking is just background noise.
Responding less and less to repeated stimuli is a human phenomenon that social scientists call habituation. Things that once amazed you become commonplace over time. So do things that once seemed awful.
In their new book, “Look Again: The Power of Noticing What Was Always There,” researchers Tali Sharot and Cass R. Sunstein explore how seeing things you once found exciting with new eyes can improve happiness, relationships, work, and society. They also consider how no longer ignoring or glossing over “bad things” can serve as an important source of motivation—they write that it is critical to “fighting stupidity, cruelty, pain, waste, corruption, discrimination, misinformation, and bullying.”
Here, Sharot and Sunstein offer practical strategies for how to use this reality of human nature to change our lives for the better.
This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.
CNN: What does the legend mean? frog does not jump out of a pot of boiling water Can you tell us about the habit if the temperature is increased gradually enough?
Cass R. Sunstein: We should take the boiling frog fable seriously, but not literally. It captures an element of human nature that has important consequences.
Tali Sharot: While the latest science shows that the frog will in fact jump out and therefore survive, what is more important to us is the analogy that suggests that an agent will acclimate to adverse conditions if the changes are very gradual.
Whether it’s getting used to pollution and the effects of climate change, or the terrible things around us like war and racism, we become less likely to notice and respond emotionally to small, incremental changes, and therefore less likely to take action. And terrible things, like genocide, often start small.
CNN: Like other legends, the boiling frog story is often repeated. How does repetition affect our understanding of truth?
– Charot: When we hear something more than once, our brain takes less time and effort to process it. For example, when you first hear a statement like “the heart of a shrimp is in its head,” you might try to imagine the heart in your head or try to remember the last time you ate shrimp. But the next time I say that, your brain doesn’t have to do as much processing, so there’s less of a response.
If a statement does not surprise us, we assume that it is probably true. This “false truth effect” is so powerful that it is one of the easiest effects to create in the laboratory. If you hear something more than once, you are more likely to believe it. Misinformation and fake news are a big problem today because untrue statements are retweeted, shared, etc. It is repeated via.
Sunstein: Recognizing the power of the illusory truth effect can create a degree of inoculation to defend against lies. You may think to yourself: “I’ve heard this a lot. Maybe I should find out if this is really true.” The power of repetition is often underestimated. People trying to convey accurate and valuable messages are not repeated enough.
CNN: How does the habit affect what you call “disturbing or harmful” life factors?
Sunstein: Let’s say you’re in a workplace where your boss is rude or your coworkers are difficult. We tend to get used to these factors, which is a good thing in that we don’t suffer as much, but it’s also not good because we don’t try to improve our situation. For example, in a country without freedom or good health care, people may get used to things that are not good rather than fighting against them. The blessing comes as decreased sensitivity to negative stimuli; The curse is that apathy relieves the pressure to change things and perhaps make life better.
CNN: How can we use habit to improve creative thinking?
– Charot: A creativity study shows that simple changes to your environment, such as moving from the office to the coffee shop, taking a different route to work, or simply going for a walk, can increase flexible thinking. When our brains are ready for change, we tend to think differently, which leads to creativity.
Big breakthroughs often occur when I don’t consciously focus on a problem or try to solve one. Reading the newspaper or running helps me think more freely. Suddenly your unconscious has the chance to free associate and encode information that may not seem relevant until your mind starts connecting them together.
Sunstein: Diversity also increases happiness and well-being by helping us see the familiar from new perspectives. The urge to “mix things up” has deep neurological wisdom. It will help you feel alive in ways you didn’t know you were missing.
CNN: Does seeing the world differently require big changes?
Sunstein: Even small changes can have big impacts. Waking up from a nightmare about someone you love dying can be a huge relief that they are still alive. You may know you have something good before you dream, but you also feel it afterwards. A vivid mental image added color to a graying part of your life. With creative exercises and modest physical changes, you can color the gray parts of your life even with small changes.
CNN: What advice would you give to people considering making big changes in their lives?
Sunstein: The data we have is that if you’re seriously considering making a change in your life, you should probably do it. Take this as a general rule, not as strict advice. Studies show that people who are undecided about moving to a different city, getting a new job, or making another major change in their lives report feeling better months later. This highlights the invigorating effect of immersion and shows that indecisive people probably err on the side of caution too much.
CNN: How can we increase pleasure?
– Charot: The fact that our brains stop paying attention to things that don’t change, whether we consider them good or bad, has some counterintuitive consequences. If you ask people whether they would enjoy listening to a piece of music uninterrupted or with breaks, 99% would say uninterrupted. But they are wrong. Participants who listened to music intermittently stated that they actually enjoyed it more than those who listened to music constantly. This suggests that we should take short breaks from activities we enjoy to trigger greater pleasure, reducing the habit of diminishing awesomeness.
CNN: Should we also put an end to unpleasant activities?
Sunstein: No. I’ve been through terrible experiences. If you’re currently cleaning a blighted room like my office, do it all at once. If you stick with it, it will become a habit and you will hate it less. But if you take it apart, you’ll hate it every time.
CNN: Do people get more pleasure from material objects or experiences?
Sunstein: Experiences. Research shows that our satisfaction with material goods declines sharply over time, while our satisfaction with experiences often increases. You may stop noticing a new item after a short while, but meaningful experiences seem to provide lasting benefits.
CNN: Looks like we should ditch the expensive items and focus on more vacations! What does science suggest?
– Charot: Tropical vacationers were surveyed to find out when they were happiest, and the first thing repeatedly mentioned was the first cocktail or the first time they saw the ocean. We learned that people reach peak happiness 43 hours after arrival. Then their joy began to fade. This tells us that we would probably be happier if we took more, shorter holidays instead of one long one.
Sunstein: Plus, much of the fun of a vacation comes from anticipating the trip and remembering it later. Even for a short holiday, the pleasure of waiting and remembering will be high. And more holidays mean more variety.
Jessica DuLong Based in Brooklyn, New York, he is a journalist, book collaborator, writing coach, and author of “Saved at the Seawall: Stories From the 9/11 Boat Lift” and “My River Chronicles: Rediscovering the Work That Building America.”
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