Habituation: How We Adapt to Life’s Repetitions

Habituation is a powerful, often overlooked process that shapes how we experience the world. It’s the reason we stop noticing smells, sounds, and even emotional highs and lows after repeated exposure. Whether it’s adapting to sensory inputs, financial volatility, or lifestyle upgrades, habituation impacts us in profound ways.

I've always found it personally interesting how quickly we can get used to things (one personal experience was moving into a neighborhood close to an airport with the constant drone of planes flying overhead).

What Is Habituation?

Habituation is the process by which our response to a repeated stimulus diminishes over time. This adaptation allows us to focus on more immediate or significant changes in our environment, conserving mental energy for what matters most (Verywell Mind).

Think about it: When you first walk into a room with a strong odor, it’s all you can focus on. But after a few minutes, your brain tunes it out. The same happens with repetitive sounds like ticking clocks or distant traffic. This isn’t just limited to sensory experiences—it extends to emotions, financial risks, and even lifestyle changes.

Sensory Habituation

On a sensory level, habituation prevents us from being overwhelmed by constant stimuli. For example, you might initially be distracted by the hum of an air conditioner or the faint smell of perfume, but over time, you stop noticing these inputs (Verywell Mind).

This adaptation is a survival mechanism: It keeps our brains from wasting energy on irrelevant details so we can focus on novel or important changes in our surroundings.

Habituation in Financial Risk

Habituation isn’t limited to the sensory world—it also shapes how we perceive and tolerate financial risks.

My Investing Journey

When I first started investing as a broke college student, I had $100 in my account. A $2 or $3 loss felt catastrophic. It wasn’t just about the money—it was about the emotional weight of seeing my limited resources shrink.

When I got my first real paycheck during an internship, my portfolio grew, and so did the stakes. Losing $100s in a single day felt like a gut punch. But with time and repeated exposure to market volatility, my emotional response dulled.

Later, I ventured into riskier territory: cryptocurrencies and options trading. I wouldn’t recommend this to most people, but it accelerated my desensitization. Watching my account fluctuate by thousands of dollars daily was unsettling at first, but it eventually became routine (Affective Brain).

In 2020, I remember shorting the market as lockdowns came our way with options. My account began swinging by tens of thousands of dollars in a single day. I was the most on edge I've ever been, but afterward? The daily swings in my portfolio (even during stunning market plunges) rarely faze me anymore. Years of exposure have normalized traditional risk for me.

The Double-Edged Sword

While habituation can build emotional resilience, it can also push you toward higher risks. What starts as small, manageable losses can escalate into reckless behavior if left unchecked.

This is key to pay attention to, while habituation can help you make less emotional negative decisions born out of fear or stress, it doesn't make you any less likely to make bad statistical decisions that can wipe you out.

Habituation and Lifestyle Creep

Habituation isn’t just about risk—it also plays into lifestyle creep. As incomes rise, spending often rises too. At first, splurging on a nicer apartment or a new car feels thrilling, but over time, the excitement fades. The upgrades become your “new normal,” leaving you chasing more to recapture the same satisfaction (Verywell Mind).

I explored this in an earlier post. Just like with financial risk, habituation can normalize higher spending, making it harder to maintain financial discipline or savor the joy of “enough.”

Why Recognizing Habituation Matters

Habituation is a survival mechanism, but it has a cost: it dulls both negative and positive experiences. Recognizing this process can help us recalibrate, whether it’s finding ways to reappreciate life’s pleasures, being intentional about financial risks, or resisting the pull of lifestyle inflation.