“Hence every thing, that is new, is most affecting, and gives us either more pleasure or pain, than what, strictly speaking, naturally belongs to it. When it often returns upon us, the novelty wears off; the passions subside; the hurry of the spirits is over; and we survey the objects with greater tranquility.” – David Hume, A Treatise of Human Nature, 2.3.5

This is a striking thing about habits — they tend to deaden. For better and for worse.
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If there’s something that’s unpleasant, that makes us uneasy or angry, we tend to have a lesser reaction as the behavior becomes a habit. When I started blogging, I felt very anxious every time I posted, because I didn’t quite know what to do. But as I got in the habit of writing every day, the anxiety wore off.

If there’s something pleasant, we also tend to have a lesser reaction as the behavior becomes a habit. That early-morning coffee was a treat when it was a new thing, but once it became a habit, I hardly noticed it, except to be frantic when I didn’t get my coffee.

I try to offset this effect, with some of my pleasant habits, by trying consciously to revel in why it gives me pleasure.

How about you? Have you noticed that habits weaken your emotional response to an activity?

Gretchen Rubin is the author of the #1 New York Times Bestseller The Happiness Project—an account of the year she spent test-driving the wisdom of the ages, current scientific studies, and lessons from popular culture about how to be happier—and the recently released Happier at Home. On her popular blog, The Happiness Project, she reports on her daily adventures in the pursuit of happiness. For more doses of happiness and other happenings, follow Gretchen on Facebook and Twitter.

Would you like to learn more about habits — and how to make or break them? Read my book, Better Than Before. It turns out that it’s not as hard as you think to master your habits, once you know what to do. Intrigued? Read an excerpt of Better Than Before.  Or listen to a clip from the audio-book (yes, that’s me, reading). Pre-order here.

Image courtesy of Andre Freitas.