An amateur is a person who has an automatic, internal trigger to do a pleasurable behavior requiring relatively little willpower. Amateur habits include many of the behaviors most people do regularly as part of their daily routines. Brushing your teeth, going on a morning walk, or taking your vitamins are just some of the habits that can fill a morning. These behaviors require little willpower or self-control to create daily rituals.

Creation of new amateur behaviors follows a familiar pattern. First, an external trigger reminds the person of the desired behavior. The external trigger may include an alarm, reminder, or can even be an object, like strategically placed dental floss. Then, if the person has sufficient motivation and the ability to carry out the behavior, he does so. The behavior is repeated multiple times until the external trigger is no longer needed and a new habit is formed.

We should also consider that the amateur behavior mode is most often the starting point for all new habit creation. Amateur behaviors can evolve into expert, habitué, or addictive behaviors. For example, someone unfamiliar with computers starts with an amateur behavior pattern and then, with sufficient training, may become an expert, exhibiting automatic behaviors associated with a high degree of proficiency. Unfortunately, the former amateur may also develop harmful compulsions associated with the computer and develop habitué or full-blown addictive behaviors such as a gaming or Internet addiction.

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