Promising yourself a prize for doing something hard can quietly make the hard thing less enjoyable.
Rewarding yourself for doing something you dislike can backfire, because it teaches your brain that the task itself is a chore to endure. Neuroscientist Andrew Huberman cautioned against it on the Huberman Lab podcast, saying rewards given afterward can undermine the dopamine that the activity would otherwise produce.
Psychology backs up the idea with a famous 1973 study. Here’s what Huberman said, what the research found, and 5 better ways to build real drive.
Why can “treat yourself” backfire?
“Treat yourself” can backfire because the story you tell about an activity shapes how rewarding it feels, and “I hate this, but I’ll love the prize” casts the task as the unpleasant part. Huberman said how much dopamine something evokes is partly subjective and tied to the way you think and talk about it.
He gave a small example. He loves his Pilot V5 pen, and by thinking and talking about what he likes about it, he could probably raise his own dopamine response to it. His point was that attention and appreciation change how rewarding something feels.
He also cautioned against telling yourself “I hate exercise or I hate studying, but I love the reward I give myself afterward.” Rewards given afterward, he said, can make the situation worse.
What did the overjustification study find?
In a classic 1973 study, children who expected a reward for drawing later spent less free time drawing than children who got no reward or an unexpected one. The paper is “Undermining children’s intrinsic interest with extrinsic reward: A test of the ‘overjustification’ hypothesis” by Mark Lepper, David Greene, and Richard Nisbett, in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
The idea is that an outside reward can make an activity feel like a job done for payment, which weakens the original joy. Psychologists call this the overjustification effect.
Later research shows it’s not universal. It depends on the type of reward and how it’s given, so treat it as a caution, not a law.
When do rewards help and when do they hurt?
Rewards tend to help for tasks you find boring and have no interest in, and they tend to hurt for tasks you already enjoy. The table below sums up a sensible approach.
| Situation | Reward effect | Better move |
|---|---|---|
| You already enjoy the activity | Can undermine your interest | Skip the prize, notice the joy |
| You dislike the activity | Reinforces “this is a chore” | Find 1 aspect to appreciate |
| Reward is a surprise | Much less harmful | Celebrate lightly afterward |
| Feedback about progress | Usually helpful | Track wins, not prizes |
Can you truly change how much you enjoy something?
Yes, within limits, because paying attention to what you like about an activity can make it more rewarding. Huberman said that people who journal about something or practice some form of appreciation tend to evoke more dopamine from it.
He was clear that you can’t just lie to yourself. You need to find a real aspect you enjoy, like the feeling of a stretched muscle, the quiet of a library, or the satisfaction of a checked-off list.
That ties into what we know about how emotion affects learning: engagement changes results.
How can you build drive without relying on prizes?
You can build drive by finding a real reason to enjoy the process, tracking progress, and keeping rewards small and unplanned. Here are 5 steps.
- Find 1 thing you like about the task. Write it down before you start.
- Journal for 2 minutes afterward. What felt good about it?
- Track progress. A simple chart of streaks or distance shows growth.
- Swap prizes for pride. Say “I did what I said I’d do.”
- Keep surprise rewards small. A walk, a tea, a song, given spontaneously.
If you truly dislike a task, ask whether it points to something about your direction. See why hating your job can guide you.
Consider someone who loves painting and starts selling prints. Within a year, they paint only what sells, and the old joy fades. Keeping 1 day a week for painting with no audience can protect it.
Should you stop rewarding yourself altogether?
No, you don’t need to give up treats, only to avoid tying them to a task you want to learn to enjoy. A dinner out to celebrate a finished project is fine. Using candy to bribe yourself through every workout is where trouble can start.
Watch the pattern. If a reward is the only reason you do something, ask what would make the activity itself worth doing. For the broader dopamine picture, read what dopamine truly is.
Frequently asked questions
Do rewards reduce motivation?
They can for activities you already enjoy. A 1973 study by Lepper, Greene, and Nisbett found children who expected a reward later spent less free time on the activity.
What is the overjustification effect?
It’s when an outside reward for something you already enjoy makes you less interested in it later, because it starts to feel like work done for pay.
Does Huberman recommend rewarding yourself after exercise?
He cautioned against telling yourself you hate the task but love the reward, saying rewards afterward can undermine the dopamine the activity would otherwise produce.
How can I make a hard task more enjoyable?
Find a real aspect you like, journal briefly about it, and track your progress. Appreciation can increase how rewarding an activity feels.
Are all rewards bad?
No. Surprise rewards and progress feedback are generally fine. The risk comes from using prizes to bribe yourself through tasks you want to learn to enjoy.
Joy is a skill, and you can practice it on purpose. The universe keeps sending you signs. Get one in your inbox every morning → For a clear path forward, read our guide on how to manifest.