Dopamine is a neuromodulator. It's a chemical in your body that controls motivation. When you have a lot of it, you start to pursue and create. When it's low, you feel lazy.

All of us have 'baseline dopamine'. It's our constant level of dopamine. It's genetic. And we also have so-called 'dopamine peaks' that come from rewards like alcohol, sex, drugs, sugar, etc. And that's your dopamine curve. Let's see how this looks.

Cool. Notice that every peak is followed by a downfall. A crash. So if you drink for example, you'll feel good in the moment. But the next day, your dopamine is lower.

Don't worry, it goes back up to baseline. But here's the thing.

Some activities like sex, partying, or smoking can make you dip too much. So you get a massive crash. And over time, like a few months, frequent peaks/downfalls lower your baseline.

So if you feel mellow or low often, it could be because of these activities. Yes, they make you feel instant relief in the moment. Like okay... you're stressed, so you pick up a cigarette. You're bored, so you eat a cookie. You're sad, so you open YouTube. Etc.

But all these are lowering your future satisfaction. They're forcing you to stay reliant on them. So, from now on, when you feel the need to get a +1 point of pleasure, don't do it.

• When you open Instagram, go do some work.
• When you pull up the cigarette, go talk to a colleague.
• Don't eat the chocolate. Eat the apple.
• When you need porn, go for a walk.

Go get your dopamine hit from something else or just sit in the pain. No, It's not easy. And it won't feel easy. But you can still do it.

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Resist the tiny dopamine hits today. Even when it feels hard. You can do it.