We live in a dopamine fueled era.
The pleasure hormone drives much of our daily behaviour – from checking our phones to deciding what we buy at our supermarkets. I would wager that it is the single most potent chemical that drives human behaviour in the 21st century.
Having said that, corporations currently uses all of this dopamine as a lever to fuel consumerism – to make us consume stuff, to always crave for more and to hollow us out inside.
The more dopamine we consume today, the more of it we will need tomorrow. The only way to break this cycle is to go on dopamine detoxes – days where we refrain from surges of dopamine by opting for low stimulation activities.
If a dopamine fueled lifestyle doesn’t feel fulfilling, set aside a few no dopamine days where meaning can take the place of pleasure.
Inspiration: How I tricked my Brain to Like Doing Hard Things