The Dopamine Series: Part 3
(remixed from November, 2023)
“Dopamine is not about the pursuit of happiness, it is about the happiness of pursuit.” — Dr Robert Sapolsky
Dopamine is dumb.
That’s right; the almighty molecule responsible for motivating us to do just about everything we do…
…Dumb as rocks, and happily willing to make us dumb too, if we let it.
See, dopamine doesn’t care if it’s motivating you to do something healthy or unhealthy, productive or unproductive, enlivening or downright dangerous.
Dopamine doesn’t even care if you actually like the thing it’s motivating you to do.
Dopamine doesn’t enjoy, it craves…
And all dopamine craves is more dopamine.
(that’s why we keep doom-scrolling long after we’ve stopped enjoying what we’re looking at — because what if we find something cool in the next post?)
This dumb little molecule is responsible for shaping our future, through shaping our present motivations…
…So if we want a bigger, brighter future, we’d better learn to control it, instead of letting it control us.
How?
By changing where you get your dopamine.
Instead of chasing cheap little “hits” from the buffet of modern stimulation (social media, junk food, video games, adult content, pick your poison)…
…Activities that act like empty calories for your brain, leaving you less satisfied and more depleted afterwards…
…Hook dopamine up with activities that are rewarding now and in the future.
If you love training, dopamine will crave working out — and the feeling of making progress towards your physical goals.
If you love your work, dopamine will send you flying to your desk the way it sends others flying through their newsfeed.
If you love the feeling of challenging yourself, pushing through discomfort, and overcoming your own resistance…
…Yep, dopamine will learn to crave that too.
Because that’s what dopamine does; it craves.
And, if you treat it like a programming device rather than an addiction…
You can program yourself to crave things that make life better now, and later on.
The choice is simple:
Program, or be programmed.
That’s the name of Dopamine’s game, and the stakes are high.
Choose well.
- T
P.S. Catch up on on earlier parts of this series below:
Turns out, the path really is the destination (Part 1)
Dopamine and the thrill of the chase (Part 2)
The Dopamine Series was first published November, 2023.
It was a huge hit, but many of our subscribers never got a chance to read it. So this week, we’re remixing and revisiting it with fresh eyes. Enjoy 🙂
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