Better Than Before: What I Learned About Making and Breaking Habits--to Sleep More, Quit Sugar, Procrastinate Less, and Generally Build a Happier Life

by Gretchen Rubin

This pattern puzzled me. Shouldn’t working toward a specific goal create a habitual practice and supply an emotional satisfaction that would strengthen the habit? Shouldn’t the reward of crossing a finish line give people more psychic energy to persevere? I was surprised—almost to the point of disbelief—to observe that finish lines didn’t have that effect.