That dull feeling when your once-thrilling job feels routine or your dream home becomes just four walls isn't all in your head—it's your brain doing its job. Scientists call it "habituation," and there's a way to outsmart it.
"Habituation is the brain's tendency to tune out what's constant or repeated," Tali Sharot, cognitive neuroscientist and author of Look Again: The Power of Noticing What Was Always There told NPR. What once kept our ancestors alert now dulls our joy. The fix? Not chasing the new, but seeing the old with fresh eyes.
Sharot's research reveals a twist. In a tourism study, she found vacation happiness peaks at 43 hours, then fades. "By Day 5, people were still happy but less so than on Day 2," she said. The culprit? Habituation. The solution isn't more stuff — it's new experiences. Even small shifts, like working in a new spot, can spark creativity, though the effect is fleeting.
This midlife rut, tied to the "U-shape of happiness," hits hardest when life feels stuck—same job, same place, same partner. Sharot suggests breaking routines, mentally or physically. "Close your eyes. Imagine losing your home, your family, your job," she says. "When you open them, there's a spark of gratitude—a reset."
Previously:
• My Life on the Road: Metrics and Mindfulness
• Mindfulness meditation and the brain
• When to practice mindlessness instead of mindfulness
• Employees who practice mindfulness meditation are less motivated, having realized the futility of their jobs
