Without dopamine, you would die.
• No motivation • No movement • No decision-making skills. It’s the most important molecule in your brain. So, what IS dopamine, and what does it do?
Dopamine drives,
predicts and explains 99% of human behavior. Yet people have NO IDEA what it
is. Despite common belief, dopamine is NOT a molecule of pleasure. Its role is
drastically different…
Dopamine is a
neurotransmitter - a chemical “messenger” in the brain. It delivers information
between neurons (nerve cells). The purpose of dopamine is simple: Secure your
survival and reproduction. Basic instincts of all living beings. This is done through a process called “Reinforcement
Learning”:
Reinforcement learning
trains your brain to seek rewards ( Satiation (sex, food ) & security and status) based on observed cues.
The goal is to PREDICT actions that consistently lead to rewards. But this is
where it gets interesting…
Here’s how your brain reacts to rewards:
• Unexpected reward ⇒ Dopamine spikes ⇒ You feel amazing
• Expected reward ⇒ Dopamine stays the same ⇒ You feel nothing
• Expected
reward that didn’t come ⇒
Dopamine DROPS ⇒
You feel like shit And this is extremely dangerous:
The first time you get a
dopamine spike (drugs, alcohol, TV, po*n, junk food) it feels amazing. Second
time, it's pretty good. The third time, it's okay. Before you know it, what
used to be “peak experience” feels normal. But that’s not the worst part...
Once the extreme becomes
your new normal, the “real normal” starts to feel horrible. That’s how
addictions happen.
The “cheap dopamine”
floods your brain, and these activities become the only way to satisfy your
cravings. And the outcome is devastating:
Many people ruin their lives chasing dopamine:
• Getting in debt to gamble
• Losing jobs over addictions
• Destroying relationships over drug abuse
The question is: Why go through so much pain, willingly?
Here's the problem: Once
you mess up your dopamine balance, you ALWAYS feel pain. When the behavior
turns into addiction, you no longer do it to feel pleasure. You do it just to
forget the pain. But there IS hope…
To save your dopamine-fried brain, you need a "Dopamine Detox":
• No po*n, no drugs, no alcohol
• Limit video games and social media
• Get daily sunlight and exercise
At first, you will feel like shit … but eventually, your balance restores. How long does this take?
Despite popular belief, it’s impossible to “reset your brain” in 24 hours. Proper Dopamine Detox takes 30–90 days. But dopamine isn't only about addictions. Let’s see how to use dopamine to make hard work effortless:
If you're unable to
focus and work, you've probably overstimulated your brain. Your baseline level
of dopamine is too low, therefore you have no motivation to work. But the solution
is simple:
To unlock unlimited energy and motivation for work:
• Don’t spike dopamine before work
• Don’t spike dopamine after work
• Focus on the effort, not the outcome Once you reset
your dopamine baseline, the “boring” work will start to feel like child’s play.
This is clearly proclaimed by Lord sri krishna in bhagavad gita 2-47.
कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन।
मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि ॥47॥
Do your duty, but do not concern yourself with the results. We have the right to do our duty, but the results are not dependent only upon our efforts. A number of factors (Variables) come into play in determining the results—our efforts, destiny (our past karmas), the will of God (nature), the efforts of others, the cumulative karmas of the people involved, the place and situation (a matter of luck), etc. give up concern for the results and instead focus solely on doing a good job. The fact is that when we are unconcerned about the results, we are able to focus entirely on our efforts, and the result is even better than before.
NATO or Not Attached to Outcome!
Even while working, give up the pride of doership and enjoyership!
Quick recap:
• Dopamine is about motivation & learning, NOT pleasure
• Over time, you need more and more to satisfy the craving
• Don't overstimulate your brain, or you’ll have no motivation to work.
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