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Funny how much sheer pleasurability and inspiration matter for habits. Ever since I got a new piano, my old practice time goals (which I often struggled to meet) feel comically low. Now somewhat effortlessly 3 months ahead of target… gotta ratchet up the goal!
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Making the habit more pleasurable is an oft-suggested strategy. I think it'd be pretty enabling to assemble a wiki-style database of per-habit pleasure/inspiration-increasing strategies!
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Something about this feels wrong. Like: why should I come up with ways to make myself to want to play the piano more? Shouldn't I just naturally want it? Yet: deliberate practice is unpleasurable! (Ericsson et al '93) *Playing* is, but need much of the former to get the latter.
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Yes this feels wrong. In my experience the trick is not increasing the pleasure but lowering the stakes. Money, prizes, exams, certifications, survival needs, meeting parental expectations. When you pick up an activity in later life typically all those stakes have dropped away.
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FWIW I feel the opposite. Picking up something like an instrument later in life when everyone around me has either given up on it or is effortlessly amazing... Every bit as high stakes as trying to learn as a kid! (But I'm only 29)