There was palpable energy when I woke up.

It was a new day.

Day one of the next step in my career.

No one could fire me from this time. It was all on me. Just the way I like it…just the way I’ve always wanted it.

As I walked down into my basement office, dynamite was going off inside me.

My mind raced.

This was my time. This was my chance to show the entire insurance industry what was possible.

I would not let past failures dictate my future.

With Rogue Risk, I would:

Write more,
Read more,
Be more organized,
Regain my positivity,
Lead by example,
Focus on health and happiness, and,
Be the best version of myself, and
Ultimately, build a first-of-its-kind digital insurance agency.

This was a new beginning, a clean slate, a fresh start, and things would be different this time.

Why We Need a Fresh Start

According to researchers at MIT, there is one common characteristic in the way that we all adopt new habits: our brains form a habit loop¹.

Each time we perform a habitual act, we become more proficient at completing that task.

Over time, habits, linked to both cost (things we don’t like, such as sit-ups and not eating cookies in the work break room every day) and reward (something we do like, such as watching TV and eating cookies in the work break room every day) burn neural pathways through our brain.

The problem with habits (and ultimately the formation of bad habits) is that over time, we build shorter and shorter neural pathways, away from cost and towards a reward, feeding our need for instant gratification.

We’re hard-wiring our brains for short-term, low-cost rewards.

The Fresh Start Effect

At first, the formation of cost-avoiding, instant gratification-delivering habits yields short-term happiness. But as a 2010 study published in the Journal of Positive Psychology suggests²,

“Happiness seems present-focused and fleeting, whereas meaning extends into the future and the past and looks fairly stable. For this reason, people might think that pursuing a meaningful life helps them to stay happy in the long run.”

While avoiding sit-ups and eating cookies (lazy examples for exercise and eating right) may help us feel happy at the moment, these long-term habits provide little meaning and fulfillment to our lives.

But instant gratification doesn’t stop with exercise and diet; it also impacts our relationships, work, and self-worth.

We can do our best to avoid forming short-term reward-based habits, but this feels like a waste of effort. Unfortunately, the pursuit of instant gratification is very likely part of the human condition.

Instead of focusing on avoidance, concentrate on recognizing and interrupting short-term reward habits.

Let’s keep recognition simple for now: if a habit is short-term in nature, with a long-term negative impact on happiness and meaning, it’s worth addressing.

Habit Interruption

The answer to interrupting habits lies in a 2014 study published by three researchers at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School titled, The Fresh Start Effect: Temporal Landmarks Motivate Aspirational Behavior.

Their goal was to prove the Fresh Start Effect phenomenon had the potential to help people overcome the limiting willpower problems that often keep us from obtaining our goals (i.e., breaking our habits built on instant gratification).

The gist: We’re more likely to take action towards our goals after days that mark the start of a new time period and represent new beginnings.

Temporal Landmarks

According to American computer scientist Harry Shum, “Temporal landmarks are days that stand in marked contrast to the seemingly unending stream of trivial and ordinary occurrences.”

For example, framing March 20th as “The first day of spring” creates a more robust temporal landmark than “The third Thursday in March.”

The importance of temporal landmarks is their ability to interrupt our poor habits. This happens in two ways:

Creating a sense of disconnection from their past imperfections,
Interrupting focus on day-to-day minutiae, thereby promoting a big-picture view of life.

Interruptions to a routine shake people out of autopilot.

The good thing about temporal landmarks is they can be as seemingly trite as Monday or the first of the month. What’s essential is the historic is meaningful enough to us individually to spur action.

Thank you for reading Finding Peak. This post is public so feel free to share it.

Share

5 Ways to Hack the Fresh Start Effect

My fresh start (starting a scratch insurance agency) was undoubtedly on the more extreme end of the spectrum. However, you don’t start your business or change careers to experience the positive impact of the Fresh Start Effect.

The 🔑 to hacking the Fresh Start Effect is manufacturing temporal landmarks with enough meaning to interrupt our poor habits.

Here are temporal landmark prompts to help you take action:

1) Start on Monday

The original research by Milkman and her colleagues found that we are more likely to follow through on our goals if we begin working on our commitments on a Monday rather than a Thursday.

Monday is traditionally the beginning of a new week, creating a natural reset point after the weekend.

Additionally, starting at the beginning of a month can carry greater significance and impact than starting at the beginning of a week.

2) Create New Labels

According to bestselling author Daniel Pink, “Imbuing an otherwise ordinary day with personal meaning generates the power to activate new beginnings.”

In other words, Monday, the first day of a month, or even January 1st, are random days to which we’ve assigned a special meaning. We have the power to do that all year long.

If you need to, create new fun (or meaningful) labels for random days to enact the Fresh Start Effect.

3) Set Fresh Start Reminders

After your initial flurry of fresh start excitement following a temporal landmark, there is a strong chance your commitment will begin to fade.

Set reminders for yourself to start again. This could be as simple as an alarm that goes off every Sunday night, signaling your fresh start the following day.

4) Re-Rack Your Fresh Start

Always be looking for new opportunities for a fresh start. If you’ve fallen off the wagon, choose a new start date and commit to it.

If you’re struggling for an impactful date to re-rack your fresh start, here is a helpful list of dates: The 86 Best Days of the Year to Get a Fresh Start, According to 700 Scientific Papers.

5) Buy a Physical Calendar

Instead of using Google Calendar, buy a physical calendar and hang it someplace; you can see it every day. Mark the temporal landmarks you’d like to use as fresh starts and track your progress.

A physical calendar also allows you to use the insanely simple but beneficial chain method of habit formation³.

The Rub

My fresh start involved a significant life change.

It was necessary to reignite my creative fire. And even though I didn’t realize it then, I’d stacked several elements of the Fresh Start Effect on top of each other in the process.

The challenge and drawback to the Fresh Start Effect is waning enthusiasm. If your new habits begin to fade, remember that the Fresh Start Effect is a simple mind hack you implement anytime.

It is natural to fall back into bad habits. Instead of feeling disappointed or sorry for yourself, recognize and interrupt.

Follow the pain.

Yours in insurance,

Hanley

This article has been updated from its originally published version on ryanhanley.com.

Footnotes

Here are three ways to get more content right now:

btw, I think you’ll love this episode of the podcast…

Finding Peak

How to Hack the Fresh Start Effect