Your brain and your life

Have you ever wondered what drives you? Most of you are going to say no, and you know what drives you to succeed already - but you’re wrong. You have no idea what underlying power drives you to succeed; in fact it has nothing to do what you think.

From young ages, we’ve always been told to make a todo list and check off the tasks we can see on our list. Most of us don’t, we’re lazy after all.

Let me ask you this, when did you last make a todo list and cross things off on it that very day. I do everyday. My colleagues asked me what drives me to succeed so badly, so I finally told them:

Dopamine drives me to succeed

Yes, a highly addictive chemical drives me to succeed. When you wake up in the morning what do you do first thing? (be honest with yourself!)

Here’s what I do:

1. I shower, and get dressed
2. I write my todo list
3. I make my bed and cross that off my todo list (dopamine!)
4. I eat and get ready for work

Within one hour of waking up I’ve already have got some dopamine for finishing one item on my daily todo list.

What’s your list? Here’s one my friend said:

1. Wake up, check my emails and texts
2. Play a few games
3. Rush to get out of bed and shower then eat in the car
4. Work

Notice something here that looks similar to your routine? The phone, yes, this is one of the fundemential issues of why you’re struggling to succeed some days.

Dopamine is produced naturally, here’s what is the four primary causes:

1. Drinking
2. Drugs
3. Gambling
4. Cell phones

You think it’s a joke right? How could your cell phone possibly be a problem and addictive? i don’t have an addiction, I don’t think anyways

If the first thing you do is check your phone, you’re addicted. If you can’t leave the house without a phone, you’re addicted. If you get bored and immediately reach for a phone, you’re addicted. Phones, tablets, computers, social media all release dopamine under certain conditions. Ever wondered why Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media giants are making billions? Dopamine - you get a friend request? Dopamine! 10 likes in 2 minutes on your photo? Dopamine!

Dopamine comes with no warning signs, it just feels good and you crave more. So you spend more time on your phone or device to get it.

Let me tell you what Dopamine also does to you, if it’s unbalanced it can:

1. Ruin relationships
2. Secluded yourself
3. Limit creative thinking
4. The inability to feel accomplished

The most common reason for normal everyday people becoming depressed in school is... dopamine and social media - not necessarily even bullying. It’s the bad balance causing your mood to go down, as you haven’t got that hit of dopamine.

how do I escape?

It’s simple, put the phone down - go for a walk (Dopamine!), talk with friends at a park (Dopamine!), get coffee with your boss (Dopamine!), make a todo list and cross it off as you do the items immediately (Dopamine!)

how I succeeded

I put my cell phone in a locked box, gave my wife the key, and didn’t let her give it back to me for a week, one terribly depressing week later and I felt accomplished (yes, dopamine from removing my phone!), now I go outside without a phone, I’m spending tons of time with my son, and I’m entirely focused and able to think outside the box when working.

So, let’s rethink what drives us, and drive ourselves with a proper balance of dopamine.