15 The Cardinal Rule of Behavior Change

行为改变的基本原则

IN THE LATE 1990S, a public health worker named Stephen Luby left his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska, and bought a one-way ticket to Karachi, Pakistan.

上世纪90年代末，一位名叫斯蒂芬·卢比(StephenLuby)的公共卫生工作者离开了他的家乡内布拉斯加州的奥马哈，买了一张单程票前往美国巴基斯坦卡拉奇。

Karachi was one of the most populous cities in the world. By 1998, over nine million people called it home. It was the economic center of Pakistan and a transportation hub, with some of the most active airports and seaports in the region. In the commercial parts of town, you could find all of the standard urban amenities and bustling downtown streets. But Karachi was also one of the least livable cities in the world.

卡拉奇是世界上人口最多的城市之一。到1998年，超过900万人把它称为家。它是巴基斯坦的经济中心和交通枢纽，拥有该地区一些最活跃的机场和海港。在城市的商业区，你可以找到所有标准的城市设施和繁华的市中心街道。但卡拉奇也是世界上最不宜居住的城市之一。

Over 60 percent of Karachi’s residents lived in squatter settlements and slums. These densely packed neighborhoods were filled with makeshift houses cobbled together from old boards, cinder blocks, and other discarded materials. There was no waste removal system, no electricity grid, no clean water supply. When dry, the streets were a combination of dust and trash. When wet, they became a muddy pit of sewage. Mosquito colonies thrived in pools of stagnant water, and children played among the garbage.

超过60%的卡拉奇居民生活在棚户区和贫民窟。这些人口稠密的社区充满了用旧木板、煤渣砖和其他废弃材料拼凑起来的临时房屋。没有废物处理系统，没有电网，没有清洁水供应。干燥时，街道上到处是灰尘和垃圾。当潮湿的时候，它们变成了一个污水的泥坑。蚊子群落在死水池里繁衍生息，孩子们在垃圾堆里玩耍。

The unsanitary conditions lead to widespread illness and disease. Contaminated water sources caused epidemics of diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Nearly one third of the children living there were malnourished. With so many people crammed into such a small space, viruses and bacterial infections spread rapidly. It was this public health crisis that had brought Stephen Luby to Pakistan.

不卫生的条件导致广泛的疾病和疾病。受污染的水源引起腹泻、呕吐和腹痛等流行病。那里将近三分之一的儿童营养不良。由于这么多人挤在这么小的空间里，病毒和细菌感染迅速传播。正是这场公共卫生危机将斯蒂芬·卢比带到了巴基斯坦。

Luby and his team realized that in an environment with poor sanitation, the simple habit of washing your hands could make a real difference in the health of the residents. But they soon discovered that many people were already aware that handwashing was important.

卢比和他的团队意识到，在一个卫生条件很差的环境中，洗手这个简单的习惯可以成为一个真正的习惯居民健康状况的差异。但他们很快发现，许多人已经意识到洗手是重要的。

And yet, despite this knowledge, many residents were washing their hands in a haphazard fashion. Some people would just run their hands under the water quickly. Others would only wash one hand. Many would simply forget to wash their hands before preparing food. Everyone said handwashing was important, but few people made a habit out of it. The problem wasn’t knowledge. The problem was consistency.

然而，尽管知道这些，许多居民还是随意地洗手。有些人只是很快地把手伸进水里。其他人只洗一只手。很多人会忘记在准备食物前洗手。每个人都说洗手很重要，但很少有人养成洗手的习惯。问题不在于知识。问题在于连贯性。

That was when Luby and his team partnered with Procter & Gamble to supply the neighborhood with Safeguard soap. Compared to your standard bar of soap, using Safeguard was a more enjoyable experience.

就在那时，Luby和他的团队与宝洁公司合作，为社区提供安全卫士香皂。与你的标准肥皂相比，使用安全卫士是一种更愉快的体验。

“In Pakistan, Safeguard was a premium soap,” Luby told me. “The study participants commonly mentioned how much they liked it.” The soap foamed easily, and people were able to lather their hands with suds. It smelled great. Instantly, handwashing became slightly more pleasurable.

“在巴基斯坦，‘安全卫士’是一种高级肥皂，”鲁比告诉我。“研究参与者通常会提到他们有多喜欢它。”肥皂很容易起泡，人们可以用肥皂泡沫在手上起泡。闻起来很香。立刻，洗手变得稍微有点快感。

“I see the goal of handwashing promotion not as behavior change but as habit adoption,” Luby said. “It is a lot easier for people to adopt a product that provides a strong positive sensory signal, for example the mint taste of toothpaste, than it is to adopt a habit that does not provide pleasurable sensory feedback, like flossing one’s teeth. The marketing team at Procter & Gamble talked about trying to create a positive handwashing experience.”

卢比说:“我认为推广洗手的目的不是为了改变行为，而是为了养成习惯。”。“对于人们来说，选择一种能够提供强烈积极感官信号的产品(比如薄荷味的牙膏)，要比选择一种不能提供愉悦感官反馈的习惯(比如用牙线清洁牙齿)容易得多。宝洁公司的市场团队谈到了试图创造一个积极的洗手体验

Within months, the researchers saw a rapid shift in the health of children in the neighborhood. The rate of diarrhea fell by 52 percent; pneumonia by 48 percent; and impetigo, a bacterial skin infection, by 35 percent.

几个月之内，研究人员发现附近儿童的健康状况发生了迅速的变化。腹泻率下降了52%，肺炎下降了48%，细菌性皮肤感染脓疱病下降了35%。

The long-term effects were even better. “We went back to some of the households in Karachi six years after,” Luby told me. “Over 95 percent of households who had been given the soap for free and encouraged to wash their hands had a handwashing station with soap and water available when our study team visited. . . . We had not given any soap to the intervention group for over five years, but during the trial they had become so habituated to wash their hands, that they had maintained the practice.” It was a powerful example of the fourth and final Law of Behavior Change: make it satisfying.

长期效果甚至更好。“六年后，我们回到了卡拉奇的一些家庭，”卢比告诉我。“超过95%的免费发放肥皂并鼓励洗手的家庭在我们的研究小组访问时都有一个用肥皂和水的洗手台.....。我们已经有五年多没有给干预组任何肥皂了，但是在试验期间，他们已经习惯于洗手了，所以他们已经洗过了维持这种做法。”这是第四条也是最后一条行为变化定律的一个强有力的例子:让它令人满意。

We are more likely to repeat a behavior when the experience is satisfying. This is entirely logical. Feelings of pleasure—even minor ones like washing your hands with soap that smells nice and lathers well—are signals that tell the brain: “This feels good. Do this again, next time.” Pleasure teaches your brain that a behavior is worth remembering and repeating.

当体验令人满意时，我们更有可能重复某种行为。这是完全合乎逻辑的。快乐的感觉——甚至是像用香皂洗手这样的小感觉——都是告诉大脑的信号:“感觉很好。下次再这样做。”快乐告诉你的大脑，一个行为是值得记忆和重复的。

Take the story of chewing gum. Chewing gum had been sold commercially throughout the 1800s, but it wasn’t until Wrigley launched in 1891 that it became a worldwide habit. Early versions were made from relatively bland resins—chewy, but not tasty. Wrigley revolutionized the industry by adding flavors like Spearmint and Juicy Fruit, which made the product flavorful and fun to use. Then they went a step further and began pushing chewing gum as a pathway to a clean mouth. Advertisements told readers to “Refresh Your Taste.”

以口香糖的故事为例。口香糖在整个19世纪都有商业销售，但是直到1891年箭牌推出，它才成为一种全球性的习惯。早期版本是用相对温和的树脂制成的，耐嚼，但不好吃。箭牌通过添加像留兰香和多汁水果这样的口味革命性地改变了这个行业，这使得产品味道鲜美，使用起来很有趣。然后他们更进一步，开始推动口香糖作为一个通往清洁口腔的途径。广告告诉读者“提升你的品味”

Tasty flavors and the feeling of a fresh mouth provided little bits of immediate reinforcement and made the product satisfying to use. Consumption skyrocketed, and Wrigley became the largest chewing gum company in the world.

美味的口感和清新的口感提供了一点点即时的强化，使产品满意的使用。消费量猛增，箭牌成为世界上最大的口香糖公司。

Toothpaste had a similar trajectory. Manufacturers enjoyed great success when they added flavors like spearmint, peppermint, and cinnamon to their products. These flavors don’t improve the effectiveness of toothpaste. They simply create a “clean mouth” feel and make the experience of brushing your teeth more pleasurable. My wife actually stopped using Sensodyne because she didn’t like the aftertaste. She switched to a brand with a stronger mint flavor, which proved to be more satisfying.

牙膏也有类似的发展轨迹。当制造商在他们的产品中添加诸如留兰香、薄荷和肉桂等口味时，他们享受到了巨大的成功。这些口味不会改善牙膏的效果。他们只是创造一个“清洁口腔”的感觉，使刷牙的经验更加愉快。实际上我妻子已经停止使用森索达因，因为她不喜欢回味。她换了一个口味更重的薄荷口味的品牌，这被证明更令人满意。

Conversely, if an experience is not satisfying, we have little reason to repeat it. In my research, I came across the story of a woman who had a narcissistic relative who drove her nuts. In an attempt to spend less time with this egomaniac, she acted as dull and as boring as possible whenever he was around. Within a few encounters, he started avoiding her because he found her so uninteresting.

相反，如果一种体验不令人满意，我们就没有理由重复它。在我的研究中，我偶然发现了一个女人的故事，她的一个自恋的亲戚把她逼疯了。为了减少和这个自大狂在一起的时间，每当他在身边的时候，她总是表现得很迟钝和无聊。在几次邂逅中，他开始回避她，因为他觉得她太无趣了。

Stories like these are evidence of the Cardinal Rule of Behavior Change: What is rewarded is repeated. What is punished is avoided. You learn what to do in the future based on what you were rewarded

像这样的故事是行为改变的基本原则的证据:什么是奖励是重复的。受到惩罚的事情是可以避免的。基于你得到的奖励，你学会了在未来该做什么

for doing (or punished for doing) in the past. Positive emotions cultivate habits. Negative emotions destroy them.

因为过去做过(或因为做过而受到惩罚)。积极的情绪可以培养习惯。负面情绪会摧毁它们。

The first three laws of behavior change—make it obvious, make it attractive, and make it easy—increase the odds that a behavior will be performed this time. The fourth law of behavior change—make it satisfying—increases the odds that a behavior will be repeated next time. It completes the habit loop.

行为改变的前三条法则——让它显而易见，让它具有吸引力，让它变得容易——增加了这一次行为得以实施的几率。行为改变的第四定律ーー使其令人满意ーー增加了下一次行为重复的可能性。它完成了习惯循环。

But there is a trick. We are not looking for just any type of satisfaction. We are looking for immediate satisfaction.

但这里有一个窍门。我们不是在寻找任何类型的满足。我们正在寻求立即的满意。

THE MISMATCH BETWEEN IMMEDIATE AND DELAYED REWARDS

直接奖励和延迟奖励之间的不匹配

Imagine you’re an animal roaming the plains of Africa—a giraffe or an elephant or a lion. On any given day, most of your decisions have an immediate impact. You are always thinking about what to eat or where to sleep or how to avoid a predator. You are constantly focused on the present or the very near future. You live in what scientists call an immediate-return environment because your actions instantly deliver clear and immediate outcomes.

想象你是一只在非洲平原上漫步的动物ー长颈鹿、大象或狮子。在任何一天，你的大多数决定都会产生立竿见影的效果。你总是在想吃什么，在哪里睡觉，或者如何避开捕食者。你总是把注意力集中在现在或者不久的将来。你生活在科学家所说的即时回报环境中，因为你的行动会立即产生明确而直接的结果。

Now switch back to your human self. In modern society, many of the choices you make today will not benefit you immediately. If you do a good job at work, you’ll get a paycheck in a few weeks. If you exercise today, perhaps you won’t be overweight next year. If you save money now, maybe you’ll have enough for retirement decades from now. You live in what scientists call a delayed-return environment because you can work for years before your actions deliver the intended payoff.

现在切换回你的人类自我。在现代社会，你今天做出的许多选择不会立即使你受益。如果你工作做得好，几个星期后你就会拿到薪水。如果你今天锻炼，也许明年你就不会超重了。如果你现在存钱，也许几十年后你就有足够的钱退休了。你生活在一个被科学家称为延迟返回的环境中，因为你可以在你的行动带来预期回报之前工作数年。

The human brain did not evolve for life in a delayed-return environment. The earliest remains of modern humans, known as Homo sapiens sapiens, are approximately two hundred thousand years old. These were the first humans to have a brain relatively similar to ours. In particular, the neocortex—the newest part of the brain and the region responsible for higher functions like language—was roughly the same size two hundred thousand years ago as today. You are walking around with the same hardware as your Paleolithic ancestors.

人类的大脑并没有在延迟返回的环境中进化为生命。最早的现代人类遗骸，被称为Homosapienssapiens，大约有20万年的历史。他们是第一批拥有与人类相似大脑的人类。特别是大脑新皮层----大脑最新的部分和负责语言等高级功能的区域----在20万年前和今天的大小大致相同。你就像你的祖先一样带着旧石器时代的硬件走来走去。

It is only recently—during the last five hundred years or so—that society has shifted to a predominantly delayed-return environment.*

直到最近，也就是在过去500年左右的时间里，社会才转变为一个主要是延迟回报的环境。

Compared to the age of the brain, modern society is brand-new. In the last one hundred years, we have seen the rise of the car, the airplane, the television, the personal computer, the internet, the smartphone, and Beyoncé. The world has changed much in recent years, but human nature has changed little.

与大脑的年龄相比，现代社会是全新的。在过去的一百年里，我们看到了汽车、飞机、电视、个人电脑、互联网、智能手机和碧昂斯的崛起。近年来，世界发生了很大变化，但人性却没有什么变化。

Similar to other animals on the African savannah, our ancestors spent their days responding to grave threats, securing the next meal, and taking shelter from a storm. It made sense to place a high value on instant gratification. The distant future was less of a concern. And after thousands of generations in an immediate-return environment, our brains evolved to prefer quick payoffs to long-term ones.

与非洲大草原上的其他动物一样，我们的祖先每天都在应对严重威胁，保证下一顿饭的安全，躲避风暴。高度重视即时满足感是有道理的。遥远的未来则不那么令人担忧。在经历了数千代的即时回报环境后，我们的大脑进化出更喜欢快速回报而不是长期回报。

Behavioral economists refer to this tendency as time inconsistency. That is, the way your brain evaluates rewards is inconsistent across time.* You value the present more than the future. Usually, this tendency serves us well. A reward that is certain right now is typically worth more than one that is merely possible in the future. But occasionally, our bias toward instant gratification causes problems.

行为经济学家将这种趋势称为时间不一致。也就是说，你的大脑评估奖励的方式在时间上是不一致的。你更看重现在而不是未来。通常，这种倾向对我们是有好处的。现在肯定的回报通常比将来可能得到的回报更有价值。但是偶尔，我们对即时满足的偏爱会导致问题。

Why would someone smoke if they know it increases the risk of lung cancer? Why would someone overeat when they know it increases their risk of obesity? Why would someone have unsafe sex if they know it can result in sexually transmitted disease? Once you understand how the brain prioritizes rewards, the answers become clear: the consequences of bad habits are delayed while the rewards are immediate. Smoking might kill you in ten years, but it reduces stress and eases your nicotine cravings now. Overeating is harmful in the long run but appetizing in the moment. Sex—safe or not—provides pleasure right away. Disease and infection won’t show up for days or weeks, even years.

如果知道吸烟会增加患肺癌的风险，为什么还要吸烟呢？当人们知道暴饮暴食会增加肥胖的风险时，为什么还要暴饮暴食呢？如果一个人知道不安全的性行为会导致性传播疾病，为什么还要进行这种行为呢？一旦你理解了大脑是如何优先考虑奖励的，答案就变得清晰了:坏习惯的后果被延迟了，而奖励是立即的。吸烟可能在十年内要了你的命，但现在它减轻了你的压力，缓解了你对尼古丁的渴望。暴饮暴食从长远来看是有害的，但在当下却是开胃的。性行为ーー无论安全与否ーー都能立刻带来快感。疾病和感染不会出现几天或几周，甚至几年。

Every habit produces multiple outcomes across time. Unfortunately, these outcomes are often misaligned. With our bad habits, the immediate outcome usually feels good, but the ultimate outcome feels bad. With good habits, it is the reverse: the immediate outcome is unenjoyable, but the ultimate outcome feels good. The French economist Frédéric Bastiat explained the problem clearly when he wrote, “It almost always happens that when the immediate consequence is favorable, the later consequences are disastrous, and vice versa. . . . Often, the sweeter the first fruit of a habit, the more bitter are its later fruits.”

每个习惯都会随着时间的推移产生多种结果。不幸的是，这些结果往往是不一致的。对于我们的坏习惯，立竿见影的结果通常让人感觉良好，但最终的结果却让人感觉糟糕。如果有好的习惯，情况恰恰相反:直接的结果并不令人愉快，但最终的结果却让人感觉良好。法国经济学家弗雷德里克·巴斯夏·马克斯清楚地解释了这个问题，他写道:“几乎总是发生这样的事情:当直接后果是有利的，后果是灾难性的，反之亦然.....。习惯的第一个果子越甜，后来的果子就越苦。”

Put another way, the costs of your good habits are in the present.The costs of your bad habits are in the future.

换句话说，你的好习惯的代价就是现在。你的坏习惯的代价在未来。

The brain’s tendency to prioritize the present moment means you can’t rely on good intentions. When you make a plan—to lose weight, write a book, or learn a language—you are actually making plans for your future self. And when you envision what you want your life to be like, it is easy to see the value in taking actions with long-term benefits. We all want better lives for our future selves. However, when the moment of decision arrives, instant gratification usually wins. You are no longer making a choice for Future You, who dreams of being fitter or wealthier or happier. You are choosing for Present You, who wants to be full, pampered, and entertained. As a general rule, the more immediate pleasure you get from an action, the more strongly you should question whether it aligns with your long-term goals.*

大脑倾向于对当下时刻进行优先排序，这意味着你不能依赖良好的意图。当你制定一个计划ーー减肥、写书或者学习一门语言ーー你实际上是在为你未来的自己制定计划。当你设想你想要的生活是什么样子的时候，很容易看到采取有长远利益的行动的价值。我们都希望未来的自己能过上更好的生活。然而，当做出决定的时刻到来时，即时的满足通常会胜出。你不再为梦想变得更健康、更富有或更快乐的未来的你做出选择。你选择的是现在的你，他想要饱饱的，被纵容的，被娱乐的。一般来说，你从一个行动中获得的快乐越多，你就越应该质疑它是否符合你的长期目标。

With a fuller understanding of what causes our brain to repeat some behaviors and avoid others, let’s update the Cardinal Rule of Behavior Change: What is immediately rewarded is repeated. What is immediately punished is avoided.

为了更全面地了解是什么导致我们的大脑重复某些行为而避免其他行为，让我们更新一下行为改变的基本原则:立即得到奖励的行为会被重复。避免立即受到惩罚。

Our preference for instant gratification reveals an important truth about success: because of how we are wired, most people will spend all day chasing quick hits of satisfaction. The road less traveled is the road of delayed gratification. If you’re willing to wait for the rewards, you’ll face less competition and often get a bigger payoff. As the saying goes, the last mile is always the least crowded.

我们对即时满足的偏好揭示了关于成功的一个重要事实:因为我们是如何连接的，大多数人会花一整天追求快速的满足。人迹罕至的是延迟满足之路。如果你愿意等待回报，你将面临更少的竞争，通常会得到更大的回报。俗话说，最后一英里总是最不拥挤的。

This is precisely what research has shown. People who are better at delaying gratification have higher SAT scores, lower levels of substance abuse, lower likelihood of obesity, better responses to stress, and superior social skills. We’ve all seen this play out in our own lives. If you delay watching television and get your homework done, you’ll generally learn more and get better grades. If you don’t buy desserts and chips at the store, you’ll often eat healthier food when you get home. At some point, success in nearly every field requires you to ignore an immediate reward in favor of a delayed reward.

这正是研究所显示的。更善于延迟满足的人拥有更高的SAT分数，更低的药物滥用水平，更低的肥胖可能性，更好的应对压力，以及出色的社交技能。我们都在自己的生活中看到过这种情况。如果你推迟看电视，完成你的家庭作业，你通常会学到更多，得到更好的成绩。如果你不在商店买甜点和薯条，你回家后就会经常吃更健康的食物。在某种程度上，几乎每个领域的成功都要求你忽略眼前的回报，而选择延迟的回报。

Here’s the problem: most people know that delaying gratification is the wise approach. They want the benefits of good habits: to be healthy, productive, at peace. But these outcomes are seldom top-of-mind at the decisive moment. Thankfully, it’s possible to train yourself to delay gratification—but you need to work with the grain of human

问题是:大多数人都知道延迟满足是明智的方法。他们想要好习惯的好处:健康，富有成效，平和。但在决定性的时刻，这些结果很少被放在首位。值得庆幸的是，有可能训练自己延迟满足感ーー但是你需要按照人类的本性来工作

nature, not against it. The best way to do this is to add a little bit of immediate pleasure to the habits that pay off in the long-run and a little bit of immediate pain to ones that don’t.

大自然，不是反对它。做到这一点的最好方法是给那些长期得到回报的习惯增加一点即时的快乐，给那些没有得到回报的习惯增加一点即时的痛苦。

HOW TO TURN INSTANT GRATIFICATION TO YOUR ADVANTAGE

如何将即时满足转化为你的优势

The vital thing in getting a habit to stick is to feel successful—even if it’s in a small way. The feeling of success is a signal that your habit paid off and that the work was worth the effort.

养成一个习惯的关键是要有成功的感觉ーー即使只是很小的成功。成功的感觉是一个信号，表明你的习惯得到了回报，工作值得付出努力。

In a perfect world, the reward for a good habit is the habit itself. In the real world, good habits tend to feel worthwhile only after they have provided you with something. Early on, it’s all sacrifice. You’ve gone to the gym a few times, but you’re not stronger or fitter or faster—at least, not in any noticeable sense. It’s only months later, once you shed a few pounds or your arms gain some definition, that it becomes easier to exercise for its own sake. In the beginning, you need a reason to stay on track. This is why immediate rewards are essential. They keep you excited while the delayed rewards accumulate in the background.

在一个完美的世界里，一个好习惯的回报就是习惯本身。在现实世界中，好习惯只有在给你提供了一些东西之后，才会让你觉得有价值。在早期，这都是牺牲。你去过几次健身房，但你并没有变得更强壮、更健康或更快ーー至少在任何显而易见的意义上是这样。仅仅几个月之后，一旦你减掉了几磅或者你的手臂增加了一些定义，那么为了锻炼而锻炼就变得更容易了。在一开始，你需要一个理由来保持正确的轨道。这就是为什么立即回报是必不可少的。他们让你保持兴奋，而延迟的奖励积累在背景。

What we’re really talking about here—when we’re discussing immediate rewards—is the ending of a behavior. The ending of any experience is vital because we tend to remember it more than other phases. You want the ending of your habit to be satisfying. The best approach is to use reinforcement, which refers to the process of using an immediate reward to increase the rate of a behavior. Habit stacking, which we covered in Chapter 5, ties your habit to an immediate cue, which makes it obvious when to start. Reinforcement ties your habit to an immediate reward, which makes it satisfying when you finish.

我们在这里真正讨论的ーー当我们讨论即时回报ーー是一种行为的结束。任何经历的结束都是至关重要的，因为我们往往比其他阶段更容易记住它。你希望你习惯的结束是令人满意的。最好的方法是使用强化，这是指使用即时的奖励来提高行为的速度的过程。我们在第五章中讨论过的习惯叠加法，将你的习惯与一个直接的暗示联系起来，这使得什么时候开始显而易见。强化将你的习惯与即时的回报联系在一起，这样当你完成的时候就会得到满足。

Immediate reinforcement can be especially helpful when dealing with habits of avoidance, which are behaviors you want to stop doing. It can be challenging to stick with habits like “no frivolous purchases” or “no alcohol this month” because nothing happens when you skip happy hour drinks or don’t buy that pair of shoes. It can be hard to feel satisfied when there is no action in the first place. All you’re doing is resisting temptation, and there isn’t much satisfying about that.

当你处理逃避习惯时，即时的强化尤其有帮助，这些习惯是你想要停止做的。坚持“这个月不买东西”或“不喝酒”的习惯是很有挑战性的，因为当你跳过欢乐时光的饮料或者不买那双鞋时，什么事情都不会发生。当一开始没有行动的时候，你很难感到满足。你所做的一切就是抵制诱惑，而这并不能让你感到满足。

One solution is to turn the situation on its head. You want to make avoidance visible. Open a savings account and label it for something you want—maybe “Leather Jacket.” Whenever you pass on a purchase, put the same amount of money in the account. Skip your morning latte? Transfer $5. Pass on another month of Netflix? Move $10 over. It’s like creating a loyalty program for yourself. The immediate reward of seeing yourself save money toward the leather jacket feels a lot better than being deprived. You are making it satisfying to do nothing.

一个解决办法是彻底改变现状。你想让回避显而易见。开一个储蓄账户，给你想要的东西贴上标签ーー也许是“皮夹克”无论你什么时候拒绝购买，把同样数量的钱存入账户。跳过你的早晨拿铁？转帐$5。再看一个月的Netflix？移动10美元。这就像为自己建立一个忠诚计划。看到自己为买皮夹克省钱的直接回报感觉比被剥夺要好得多。你让无所事事变得令人满足。

One of my readers and his wife used a similar setup. They wanted to stop eating out so much and start cooking together more. They labeled their savings account “Trip to Europe.” Whenever they skipped going out to eat, they transferred $50 into the account. At the end of the year, they put the money toward the vacation.

我的一个读者和他的妻子使用了类似的设置。他们不想再经常在外面吃饭，而是开始经常一起做饭。他们把自己的储蓄账户贴上了“欧洲之旅”的标签每当他们不出去吃饭时，他们就把50美元转到账户上。在年底，他们把钱用来度假。

It is worth noting that it is important to select short-term rewards that reinforce your identity rather than ones that conflict with it. Buying a new jacket is fine if you’re trying to lose weight or read more books, but it doesn’t work if you’re trying to budget and save money. Instead, taking a bubble bath or going on a leisurely walk are good examples of rewarding yourself with free time, which aligns with your ultimate goal of more freedom and financial independence. Similarly, if your reward for exercising is eating a bowl of ice cream, then you’re casting votes for conflicting identities, and it ends up being a wash. Instead, maybe your reward is a massage, which is both a luxury and a vote toward taking care of your body. Now the short-term reward is aligned with your long-term vision of being a healthy person.

值得注意的是，重要的是选择短期奖励，以加强你的身份，而不是与它冲突。如果你想减肥或者多读书，买一件新夹克是可以的，但是如果你想做预算或者省钱，那就不行了。相反，洗个泡泡浴或者悠闲地散步是奖励自己空闲时间的好例子，这符合你获得更多自由和经济独立的终极目标。类似地，如果你锻炼的奖励是吃一碗冰淇淋，那么你就是在为相互冲突的身份投票，结果就是一笔勾销。相反，也许你的奖励是一次按摩，这既是一种奢侈，也是对照顾自己身体的一种投票。现在，短期的回报与你长期的健康愿景是一致的。

Eventually, as intrinsic rewards like a better mood, more energy, and reduced stress kick in, you’ll become less concerned with chasing the secondary reward. The identity itself becomes the reinforcer. You do it because it’s who you are and it feels good to be you. The more a habit becomes part of your life, the less you need outside encouragement to follow through. Incentives can start a habit. Identity sustains a habit.

最终，随着内在的奖励如更好的心情、更多的能量和减少的压力开始发挥作用，你将不再那么关心追求第二个奖励。身份本身变成了强化物。你这么做是因为这就是你，做你自己感觉很好。习惯越是成为你生活的一部分，你就越不需要外界的鼓励来坚持下去。激励可以培养一种习惯。身份维系着一种习惯。

That said, it takes time for the evidence to accumulate and a new identity to emerge. Immediate reinforcement helps maintain motivation in the short term while you’re waiting for the long-term rewards to arrive.

也就是说，证据的积累和新的身份的出现需要时间。当你在等待长期回报的时候，立即的强化可以帮助你在短期内保持动力。

In summary, a habit needs to be enjoyable for it to last. Simple bits of reinforcement—like soap that smells great or toothpaste that has a refreshing mint flavor or seeing $50 hit your savings account—can offer the immediate pleasure you need to enjoy a habit. And change is easy when it is enjoyable.

总而言之，一个习惯必须是令人愉快的，才能持久。一些简单的强化措施——比如闻起来很棒的肥皂，或者清爽的薄荷味牙膏，或者看到自己的储蓄账户中有50美元——可以给你带来享受一种习惯所需的即时快感。改变是很容易的，当它是愉快的。

Chapter Summary

The 4th Law of Behavior Change is make it satisfying.

行为改变的第四定律就是让自己满意。

We are more likely to repeat a behavior when the experience is satisfying.

当体验令人满意时，我们更有可能重复某种行为。

The human brain evolved to prioritize immediate rewards over delayed rewards.

在进化过程中，人类的大脑会优先考虑即时的回报而不是延迟的回报。

The Cardinal Rule of Behavior Change: What is immediately rewarded is repeated. What is immediately punished is avoided.

行为改变的基本原则:立即得到的奖励是重复的。避免立即受到惩罚。

To get a habit to stick you need to feel immediately successful— even if it’s in a small way.

要养成一个习惯，你需要立即感到成功ーー即使只是很小的成功。

The first three laws of behavior change—make it obvious, make it attractive, and make it easy—increase the odds that a behavior will be performed this time. The fourth law of behavior change

行为改变的前三条法则——让它显而易见，让它具有吸引力，让它变得容易——增加了这一次行为得以实施的几率。行为变化的第四定律

—make it satisfying—increases the odds that a behavior will be repeated next time.

ーー使它令人满意ーー增加下一次行为重复的可能性。