Dopamine is destiny.
Why?
It’s the “carrot on a stick” all of us are chasing.
This incentive structure creates a dopamine map which becomes our life path.
However, all dopamine is NOT equal.
Different kinds of dopamine create different life paths.
Have you ever taken a step back, zoomed out, and looked at where your dopamine map is heading?
(The consequences of where you get your mental rewards from?)
If you haven’t, it probably isn’t looking pretty.
(Which is why the masses fail over and over again).
But the good news is, it doesn’t have to be this way.
Here’s how it all breaks down:
Dirty Dopamine vs. Clean Dopamine
The reason why the masses never really achieve anything is because their dopamine map is fucked.
They get their pleasure (dopamine) from trivial activities that often hurt them long-term.
This is why they spend most of their time engaging in those acts.
However, this kind of mediocre dopamine isn’t even a reward…. it’s a distraction.
When you get pleasure from delaying gratification and building your value / position, you’ll automatically become more successful.
This was proven in the Stanford study “the Marshmellow test”.
Kids were given the option to eat 1 marshmellow now, or wait a bit and receive 2 marshmellows later.
The result?
All the kids who waited ended up being more successful as adults.
Even at a young age, they understood that dopamine is destiny.
However, dopamine isn’t only created with mental choices. It also has a biological component.
This is why it’s harder for some people to delay gratification.
(Their biology is already at a disadvantage).
But how does it work?
The Biology Of Dopamine
Your body’s dopamine production is determined by 3 things:
- Hormone balance
- Brain chemistry
- Gut chemistry
And until you get this sorted, your system won’t function properly.
The Solution?
Re-Wire your dopamine map.
Here’s How:
1. Optimize Hormone Balance
REMOVE
- Endocrine disruptors
- Blue light before bed
- Processed food
- Xeno-estrogens
- Energy leeches
- GMO’s / Soy
- Veg oils
ADD
- Positive social life
- Heavy workouts
- Whole Foods
- Kombucha
- Sunlight
- Real oils
2. Optimize Brain Chemistry / Pathways
Chasing short-term pleasure (dopamine) literally changes the architecture of your brain.
It carves different pathways and enlarges / shrinks certain structures which makes you more likely to fall for life traps.
Things like:
- Doom scrolling
- Hard drugs
- Porn etc
set your brain up to have weaker self-control.
(And make it harder to set up the tracks for clean dopamine).
The more you indulge in dirty dopamine, the more you feel pain from the “hangover”.
And what do people do to escape the pain?
A: Indulge in more dirty dopamine.
(Seek instant relief regardless of consequences).
On the flip side, the more you control your dopamine, the less appealing dirty dopamine becomes.
Momentum goes both ways.
3. Optimize Gut Chemistry
Your gut is your “second brain”.
About 50% dopamine is produced in gastrointestinal tract by enteric neurons and intestinal epithelial cells.
Serotonin and dopamine are two types of neurotransmitters produced in the gut. In fact, 90-95% of serotonin and 50% of dopamine in our body is stored in the gut.
A lot of people think “depression” is a mental issue, when most of the time it’s a GUT issue.
But how does it happen?
It all starts with what you put in your body (diet).
Processed foods and industrial sugars create a tasty feast for the bad kind of bacteria, wrecking absolute havoc on your dopamine system.
(Which leads to short-term thinking / choices to alleviate the pain, making people even more depressed in the long run).
How do you fix it?
You cut out all junk food (duh) and start consuming more whole foods (as well as fermented foods):
- Pickled Beets
- Sauerkraut
- Kombucha
- Pickles
These allow the good kind of bacteria to grow (which is responsible for your dopamine receptors).
This helps restore the natural dopamine balance and makes it even easier to resist temptation.
Conclusion
Show me your dopamine map and I will show you your destiny.
Where you get your mental rewards from lays the tracks of your life path.
The reason why more people don’t win in life is because their tracks have trapped them in a prison of dirty dopamine.
(Like a lab rat frantically pressing a button for the next hit of cocaine).
You make the switch from dirty to clean dopamine by delaying gratification and un-fucking your biology.
This will put you onto an upward spiral that will allow you to attain success beyond your wildest dreams.
The choice is yours.
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My name is Mister Infinite. I've written 300+ articles for people who want more out of life. Within this website you will find the motivation and action steps to live a better lifestyle.
