#02 - Understanding Dopamine is a superpower

Getting dopamine right is so key. It is responsible for desire, craving, and motivation? In this newsletter, we're diving into how to push your dopamine levels in the right direction.

Why Dopamine Matters

Chances are, you can think of a period in your life when you felt energised, driven and pursuing goals.

On the other hand, you can also probably remember a time when you felt flat, without my energy and didn’t get much done.

The differences between these two cases in dopamine. Chances are, your baseline was higher in the first case than in the second case. Read on to find out how you can keep yourself in the first situation.

The Pitfalls: Why Most Fail

• Instant Gratification: Pleasure without prior effort is not good. Learn to celebrate putting the work in - and control your social media use!

• Spiking dopamine too much, too often: When dopamine spikes, it then falls below baseline for a while afterwards. The bigger the spike, the larger the fall. Understanding this dynamic is crucial.

• Too much alcohol: As if you didn’t know already, cutting back the drinking is probably a good idea.

• Over-eating highly processed food: Keep it simple and it whole foods as much as possible

Let’s now dive into some steps to ensure your dopamine function is on the right track.

Step 1 - Delay Gratification

The world’s highest performers are excellent at delaying gratification.

They put the work in today to enjoy a better tomorrow. This is what we all should be striving for when it comes to dopamine.

A good motto to remember is, “Effort before reward.”

However, this often requires discipline to do over time.

The way to make discipline more seamless is to set up your environment in a way that makes your desired behaviour more obvious.

For example, lay your gym clothes out where they can be seen and keep a clean, aesthetic workspace.

Step 2 - Acknowledge the Journey

Don’t over-celebrate an outcome and under-celebrate what it took to get there.

We don’t want to short-circuit the work-reward pathways.

If we are too fixated on the outcome, we won’t enjoy the work or process towards achieving goals as much. This makes us more likely to quit in the future.

Yes, reward yourself for completing something. But the process of getting there should be the most rewarding part.

Step 3 - Be Intrinsically Motivated

Learn to love putting effort in.

Become excited about the journey towards goals. Progress towards something we value is one of the best feelings.

Rewarding our own effort positively reinforces the work-reward dopamine pathways.

This sets us up for further success in the future.

“The pursuit is the reward.” - Andrew Huberman

Bonus Tips for Healthy Dopamine Levels

• Cold Water Exposure: Results in a huge dopamine boost and yet, doesn’t then crash below baseline but slowly tapers off. A valuable tool.

• Caffeine: Allows us to feel the effects of dopamine more.

• Fasting: Dopamine can become slightly more potent during a fast.

• Light Exposure: Getting sunlight early in the day and avoiding bright light later in the day will keep dopamine levels in a healthy range.

• Social Connection: Meaningful interactions with others will release oxytocin and then stimulate dopamine

That’s it for today.

Have a good one!

• Adam