Repetition increases our tendency to act

The little-known nineteenth-century French philosopher Felix Ravaisson was able to put this concept into concrete terms. He called it the double law of habit. Basically it means this: repetition strengthens our tendency to act, but it also weakens our sensation of that act. In other words, we habituate. It’s a deceptively complex process, and one that has power to sap force and meaning from our lives. We tend to keep doing things long after they have lost meaning for us. Yes, we can take advantage of that dynamic when we form new habits, as they lose their hard edges with repetition. But it’s a double-edged sword.

Habituation is one reason we lose interest in the material stuff we buy (thinking those things will finally make us happy). Certainly, you enjoyed sitting on your new couch the day it was delivered. And you got to show it off to your friends the next time they visited. But after that? You probably don’t notice it much now.

Habits are efficient little traitors. Repetition removes the effort from an action, which is excellent when the action remains useful. Teeth get brushed. Medicine gets taken. The useful choice stops demanding a referendum every morning.

The same machinery keeps going after meaning has left. A report is produced because the calendar says so. Notifications get checked despite containing nothing worth knowing. A subscription quietly renews for a service last enjoyed when everyone was making banana bread.

Sensation fades as behaviour strengthens. The expensive purchase becomes ordinary. The expensive feature disappears into expectation. Pleasure adapts; procedure survives. This is awkward for businesses hoping the original delight will continue justifying next year’s price.

Constantly questioning every routine would be unbearable. Nobody needs a quarterly strategic review of toothbrushing. The trick is to interrupt selectively, especially where cost, risk or purpose may have changed.

Make good behaviours easy to repeat, then inspect them occasionally. Does this report still change a decision? Would I buy this subscription today? Is the familiar route still the quickest? What outcome was the habit originally meant to produce?

Reviews should be rarer than the routine and timed to real change. Otherwise the review itself becomes another habit nobody notices. Put the original purpose beside the renewal date or reporting cycle, and record whether the routine still serves it. If nobody can remember what would stop the behaviour, repetition has taken over the decision.