Lessons from Jeremy Dean

Jeremy Dean, a psychologist and the founder of the acclaimed blog "PsyBlog," is renowned for his ability to translate complex psychological research into practical insights for everyday life. His work, particularly his book "Making Habits, Breaking Habits," delves into the science of how we can transform our behaviors to lead happier and more fulfilling lives.

On Habits and Change

The Marathon of Change: "The true aim of personal change is to turn our minds away from miracle cures and quick fixes, and adopt a long-term strategy. Habit change isn't a sprint; it's a marathon." [1]
The Power of Small, Consistent Changes: "The right mindset is to wake up tomorrow almost exactly the same person, except for one small change—a small change that you can replicate every day until you don't notice it anymore, at which point it's time to plan another small change." [1]
The Automaticity of Habits: About half of our daily lives are governed by habits, which are actions and thoughts repeated in the same context automatically, without conscious thought. [1]
Habits as the Bedrock of Life: "Habits are the invisible architecture of everyday life." [2]
The Three Pillars of Habit: Habits are characterized by three key features: they are performed automatically with little conscious thought, they evoke minimal emotional response, and they are strongly tied to the situations in which they occur. [1]
The Surprising Slowness of Habit Formation: Research indicates that forming a new habit takes, on average, 66 days, though this can vary significantly based on the individual and the complexity of the habit. [2]
The Role of Intention in Weak vs. Strong Habits: When habits are weak, our intentions are a good predictor of our behavior. However, as habits strengthen, our intentions become less influential. [3]
Stress Drives Us to Habit: Under stress, we are more likely to revert to our habitual responses, even when we have planned to act differently. [3]
Breaking Habits Requires Making New Ones: To successfully break an old habit, it's most effective to pair the effort with the creation of a new, competing habit. [3]
The Simplicity of Change: "The key to change is to make it easy." [2]
The Power of 'If-Then' Planning: Vague goals are ineffective. Instead, create specific "implementation intentions" in the format of "If X happens, then I will do Y." For example, "If it's a weekday morning, then I will go for a 20-minute walk." [4]
Focus on Positive Framing: When creating new habits, frame them as positive actions ("I will take the stairs") rather than denials ("I will not take the elevator"), as self-denial can paradoxically increase the allure of the forbidden action. [5]
Self-Control is a Muscle: Like a muscle, self-control can be strengthened through regular training. Even the act of trying to break a habit can enhance your willpower. [5]
The Danger of Overestimating Self-Control: People consistently overestimate their ability to control themselves, which can lead to placing themselves in tempting situations they can't handle. [6]
The Importance of a Contingency Plan: For situations where your willpower will be tested, having a pre-planned course of action is crucial for staying on track. [6]
Mindfulness as the Antidote to Mindlessness: "Mindfulness is the antidote to mindlessness." [2] By being present and aware, we can catch our automatic, unhelpful behaviors as they happen.
Use Events, Not Time, as Cues: It is more effective to link a new habit to an existing event in your daily routine (e.g., "after I brush my teeth") rather than a specific time, which requires constant clock-watching. [3]
Habits Can Be Thoughts, Not Just Actions: Negative thought patterns can become habitual and are often linked to mental health issues like depression. [1]
The Cage of Habit: "Habit provides a safety zone, but it's also a kind of cage from which escape is hard." [7]
Other People Disrupt Our Routines: Living with others can disrupt our established routines, which can be either a positive or negative influence on our habits. [8]

On Happiness

The Fleeting Nature of Positive Experiences: We adapt to positive experiences more quickly than negative ones, a phenomenon known as "habituation." This means the pleasure we get from good habits can fade over time. [9]
Vary Your Happy Habits: To counteract habituation, introduce variety into your positive routines. This can help you continue to derive joy from them. [9]
The Power of Savoring: Actively paying attention to and appreciating positive experiences, a practice known as "savoring," can significantly boost happiness. It's about 'stopping to smell the roses'. [3]
Gratitude's Impact on Happiness: Practicing gratitude is a well-researched method for increasing happiness, with some studies suggesting it can lead to a 25% increase in feelings of well-being. [10]
Experiences Trump Possessions: Investing in experiences, rather than material possessions, tends to lead to more lasting happiness. [10]
The Link Between Predictable Routines and Family Happiness: "Families that have established good, predictable routines tend to be happier, with both parents and children being better adjusted." [11]
Happiness as a Driver of Success: A large body of research suggests that happiness is often a precursor to success in various life domains, rather than the other way around. [10]
The Sabotage of Putting Off Joy: Our brains can trick us into postponing enjoyable activities, thereby sabotaging our own happiness. [12]
The Importance of Social Connection: Strong social connections are a fundamental component of a happy life. [3]
Defining Happiness for Yourself: How we define happiness has significant implications for how we live our lives. It's not just about pleasure, but also about finding satisfaction in who we are and what we do. [10]

On Creativity

The Value of Incubation: "Spending longer thinking about the problem before you dive in is likely to lead to higher levels of creativity in the final product." [13]
Don't Think Too Hard: Overthinking can sabotage your creative flow. A less controlled, more relaxed state of mind is often more conducive to creativity. [14]
Social Rejection as a Creativity Booster: Feeling like an outsider can, in some cases, enhance creativity by encouraging more novel thinking. [14]
The Role of Persistence and Flexibility: Creativity is a function of both persistence (trying for longer) and flexibility (trying different approaches). [14]
Happy Music Can Fuel Creativity: Listening to happy music can encourage more persistent and flexible thinking, which are key components of the creative process. [14]
Creativity is a Skill, Not Just a Talent: While some people may have a natural inclination, creativity can be enhanced through the use of specific techniques and practices. [14]
Experimental Time Fuels Innovation: Dedicating time to experiment without the pressure of a specific outcome can fuel future creative projects. [15]
Embrace the "Outsider Advantage": Sometimes, not being part of the in-group can provide a unique perspective that fosters creative ideas. [14]
The Pratfall Effect and Likability: For competent people, making a small blunder can actually increase their likability by making them seem more human and approachable. [16]
Develop Creative Habits: Just like any other skill, creativity can be cultivated through consistent practice and the development of creative routines. [1]

On Motivation and the Mind

Switch Tasks to Maintain Motivation: Motivation for a specific task may wane, but overall self-control is less limited than many believe. Switching between tasks can help maintain high levels of motivation throughout the day. [17]
Self-Control is Task-Specific: The idea that we have a general, depletable store of self-control is likely a myth. Getting tired of one task doesn't mean you have less motivation for a new one. [17]
The Power of a Strong "Why": A compelling reason for pursuing a goal is a more powerful motivator than simply having a time management system. [18]
Our Brains Learn Patterns Unconsciously: Our brains can detect and learn patterns without our conscious awareness, which can influence our behavior and speed up our responses. [19]
We Mistake Familiarity for Control: "We end up feeling we have more control over precisely the behaviors that, in reality, we have the least control over." [19]
The Unreliability of Introspection: We are often strangers to ourselves, and our conscious minds can fabricate reasons for our behaviors after the fact. [2]
Thinking Too Hard Can Reduce Decision Satisfaction: Over-analyzing the reasons for our choices can sometimes lead to being less happy with the decisions we make. [3]
The Influence of Unconscious Cues: Our environment is full of unconscious cues that can trigger habitual behaviors without our awareness. [2]
The Power of Saying "Thank You": Beyond being good manners, expressing gratitude is a powerful tool for strengthening social bonds and increasing personal happiness. [20]
The Importance of Authenticity: In a world of social pressures, understanding your own psychology can help you stay true to yourself and build a life that is genuinely your own. This is a recurring theme throughout PsyBlog's extensive coverage of social psychology. [21][22]

Learn more:

Lessons from Jeremy Dean

On Habits and Change

On Happiness

On Creativity

On Motivation and the Mind

Written by Antoine Buteau

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