In the 1890’s, Ivan Pavolov did an experiment. He rang a bell and then fed his dogs. Eventually the dogs would begin drooling when they heard the sound of a bell ringing. The dogs associated the sound of a bell ringing with getting fed. I did something similar to this but on myself. 

It was last summer and I was running every day. I heard of this study and wanted to motivate myself. At the same time, my favorite band, Green Day released a new album called ‘Saviors.’ I wanted to train myself in a similar way. I decided that every time I went for a run I would start the album and listen to it while I ran. I went through with this plan. But did it work? Absolutely yes! Before I go for a run, I reflexively reach for my phone to start up the album. Every time I hear the opening chords to “The American Dream Is Killing Me,” I feel like going for a run. I trained myself like a dog.

After reading this, maybe try applying this information to other parts of your life. Don’t want to wash the dishes? Listen to your favorite song while doing it. Taking out the trash? Ring a bell. Going to exercise? Say a phrase over and over while doing it. You’ll find that starting the task is much easier when there is a habit backing it up. So when you’re consistently reading every night be sure to thank Pavlov and his hungry dogs!