As I’ve been writing this book, I’ve started noticing these patterns in my own life.

Over the past week, we’ve been hosting a friend from Seattle and enjoying a staycation. We’ve been exploring coffee shops, trying new restaurants, and spending time together over ice cream and frozen yogurt. It’s been a great break from our normal routines.

And you know what?

My brain loved it.

Everything felt new. Different. Fun.

When it came time to sit down and work on my business, it suddenly wasn’t nearly as exciting.

Not because I don’t love what I do.

Because my brain had been feasting on novelty.

That realization made me smile because it’s exactly what I’ve been researching.

The same brain that gets excited by something new also adapts to it remarkably quickly.

Your Brain Is Looking for Balance

One of the books that influenced my thinking while writing Marketing Dopamine was Dr. Anna Lembke’s Dopamine Nation.

She describes pleasure and pain as two sides of a balance. When we experience something pleasurable, our brains naturally work to restore equilibrium. The bigger the emotional high, the more the brain works to bring us back to center.

The brain doesn’t just experience pleasure. It adapts to it.

That’s why the second piece of cake rarely tastes as amazing as the first. It’s why the excitement of a new phone eventually wears off. It’s why a vacation can make returning to everyday life feel just a little less exciting.

Our brains are designed to notice what’s new.

What Does This Have to Do With Marketing?

More than you might think.

If our own brains adapt this quickly, why wouldn’t our customers’ brains do the same?

Think about how marketing has changed over the past few years.

Limited-time offers became countdown timers. Countdown timers became flash sales. Flash sales became bigger discounts. Email subject lines became more urgent. Social media became louder.

Everyone started trying to outdo everyone else.

Why?

Because what worked yesterday doesn’t always create the same response the next time. Our brains adapt.

The Hidden Cost

Here’s where it gets interesting.

When every email promises something extraordinary, extraordinary begins to feel ordinary.

When every sale is urgent, urgency loses its meaning.

When every message is designed to create excitement, people begin expecting the excitement instead of remembering the value.

The result isn’t just lower open rates or fewer clicks.

It’s something far more important.

Trust begins to erode.

Marketing doesn’t simply create transactions. It creates expectations.

Over time, people begin to associate those expectations with your name.

A Different Way to Think About Marketing

I’m not suggesting that urgency is always wrong or that promotions don’t work.

They absolutely have their place.

The question is whether they’re supporting your strategy or replacing it.

If every campaign depends on creating a bigger emotional spike than the last one, eventually you’ll find yourself working harder for smaller results.

There is another way.

Keep your promises. Show up consistently. Create value people genuinely appreciate.

Give your audience a reason to look forward to hearing from you, not because you’re creating the next big spike, but because you’ve earned their trust.