Mike Carruthers

Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

Yeah, well, I've always felt that, that, you know, getting away from something helps you appreciate it more when you come back, when you take a break.

We're talking about how we get used to things, how we habituate to things, and why it's good and sometimes not so good.

My guest is Tali Sherritt.

She is author of the book, Look Again, The Power of Noticing What Was Always There.

So, Tali, that song thing just makes no sense to me because it would seem so frustrating to be listening and going, oh, here comes my favorite part.

Oh, man, what'd you stop the song for?

I mean, I would find that, I would think I would find that so frustrating.

Wow.

So, yeah, some other ways to do this.

Well, before we get into the other ways to do this, a lot of times people will talk about, you know, appreciate what you have and try not to habituate.

Like, you don't take for granted the beautiful view out your kitchen window, even though over time, of course, you're going to.

But you could kind of make an effort not to, to really appreciate it a year or two years later.

But it's not quite the same as the day you moved in.

What are some other ways that we can dishabituate, if that's the word?

I guess that's the word, dishabituate.

When you stop and think about all of the things that we habituate to, like you were talking about the air conditioning, like you only notice it when it's not there, or the heating in your house, or electricity if the power goes out.

I mean, you just take all of these things for granted.

You become so habituated to them until they disappear, and then you appreciate them.

So you're suggesting we break up what's so constant in order to notice it, to see it, to pay attention.