Episode V: The Power of Dopamine
Dopamine is the most powerful resource any human can have. Let me explain why.
First, let’s talk about your body and where dopamine comes from.
Your body’s nervous system has cells that connect through a synapse, where neurons connect to other neurons. The chemicals released to other neurons when the synapse are amino acids, which are a result of breaking protein down in protein synthesis. Tyrosine is one of those amino acids. Tyrosine turns into a chemical called DOPA, and DOPA turns into dopamine. Dopamine is the neurotransmitter in your brain that rewards you when doing an act that gives pleasure.
Certain acts give more pleasure than others. For example, if you finish a workout, it provides a very high level of dopamine. Your brain gets a massive feeling of satisfaction because dopamine is the reward both during and after an activity.
How you receive rewards varies from person to person. For example, many people stay up late watching Netflix, TikTok, or social media. If it becomes subconscious to keep doing it, it’s because the dopamine took over.
Dopamine makes you function on a want-to basis. The things you have to do won’t matter when dopamine takes over. I have to write my thesis, but since I want to write about dopamine, I’m writing about dopamine instead.
If your rewards system is off, it could lead to some serious trouble. Let’s look at an alcoholic.
For some alcoholics, it isn’t just the substance itself that gets them addicted. It’s the reward system that their brains receive when drinking.
An alcoholic’s brain receives its’ highest dopamine levels from the substance and sees it as its biggest reward instead of other activities. Some alcoholics reach that all-time dopamine high the second their brain experiences it; others receive more rewards over time as they continue to drink. Either way, it becomes subconscious for alcoholics to crave it because drinking is the act that provides the most pleasure.
Since dopamine makes the brain function on a want-to basis, all other aspects of life don’t come close to satisfying them and drinking becomes the priority. Even when getting clean, they still crave that feeling of dopamine. It’s why alcoholics wrangle with their addiction the rest of their lives.
This isn’t to say that dopamine is bad, though. It’s only bad when rewards become subconscious and interfere with your personal life.
When dopamine consistently channels through you during activity and your skillset matches that reward system, you can enter a flow state. Flow state is the most powerful tool anyone can have; you can take complete control because you are perfectly in the present moment. Flow state explains those moments in life when you are perfectly present and in complete control while doing the activity.
I will write more on flow state in a later episode. This is going to be my last blog post until April 10th. My thesis is almost done, and I will post it for anyone who’d like to read it.
When the skillset isn’t there or the dopamine isn’t as high, you can do something called hyperfocus. When hyperfocusing, you lose track of time doing the activity like in a flow state, but either the dopamine of actually doing the activity or your skillset holds you back from being in a flow state.
Hyperfocusing can be incredibly powerful because it allows you to perform at an extremely high level.
For example, when locked in on doing work, you do so because you are hyperfocusing. You might not like doing it, but when you eventually get around to it, finishing the have-to’s with everything in the tank is the biggest dopamine reward because you can go back to the want-to’s stress-free once done.
If you hyperfocus on non-productive things, it can become an obstacle to your daily existence.
An example of this is playing video games. Video games provide incredible amounts of dopamine, but if there are have-to’s that must be completed, your skillset isn’t there to be in a flow state, you’ll miss out on the other stuff without realizing it because you’ll lose track of time.
Many people fear the hyperfocus because they fear not doing have-to’s on time. In most cases, it’s justified. Dopamine is subconscious and losing sight of where it applies is dangerous.
However, if you hyperfocus on the hyperfocus, then you can regulate the dopamine into different channels instead of just one. Let me explain what I mean.
I have extremely high levels of dopamine. Fortunately, many of my have-to’s are want-to’s, so I am lucky in that regard. However, other want-to’s are not have-to's, but must be recognized daily to be satisfied. How I balance them is by hyperfocusing on what I can and cannot do on any given day.
I hyperfocus on what must be done at different points of the next day fifteen minutes before bed. When I schedule, I give myself breaks that fulfill the dopamine so I can keep going. That break was writing this blog. It has become subconscious to continue to schedule because I receive a massive dopamine release after hitting every checkpoint.
Before scheduling, I list priorities on a scale of biggest to smallest dopamine reward and know each must be hit. I then schedule both what I want and have to do in a day to make sure my dopamine is fulfilled.
It’s not a bad thing to have dopamine because it makes life that much more satisfying. I argue that it’s my biggest strength. The process of channeling it is difficult, but once you do, anything is possible.
Follow the dopamine, but with respect to the have-to’s. Your days will be a lot more rewarding after you listen it.
