05.12.2024
Did you know that only 8% of goals are successfully achieved? This striking statistic, based on a study by the University of Scranton, resonates with anyone who has ever tried and failed to accomplish a goal. But why does this happen, even to the most ambitious among us?
As a Doctor in Organisational Psychology, I have spent years exploring the relationship between motivation and performance. Advances in neuroscience have revealed that motivation relies on a small yet powerful neurotransmitter called dopamine. Understanding and mastering this ‘‘motivation molecule’’ could be the key to sustaining drive and consistently hitting your targets.
Dopamine: The Motivation Chemical
Dopamine is often referred to as the “pleasure” neurotransmitter because it interprets reward signals such as the satisfaction of a job well done. But dopamine is not just about feeling good; it drives our ambitions, sharpens our focus, regulates our mood, and boosts our energy levels.
From an evolutionary perspective, dopamine has played a crucial role as a survival tool, surging when humans accomplished essential tasks like:
- Eating: In times of food scarcity, sugary foods provided vital energy boosts.
- Social interaction: Bonding ensured collaboration and safety.
- Reproduction: Dopamine reinforced behaviours critical to species perpetuation.
These rewards were inherently tied to effort: hunting, problem-solving, or building relationships. Success required hard work, and dopamine reinforced this, hardwiring the pursuit of challenges and achievement into our biology.
The Modern Dopamine Dilemma
Our environment has evolved, but our brains are still wired the same way. Today, rewards require little effort, and instant gratification is everywhere:
- Food: A fridge door away.
- Entertainment: Endless streams on demand.
- Social validation: Constant pings from devices.
These easy dopamine hits disrupt our brain’s reward system. When dopamine remains elevated for too long, it struggles to return to baseline. This causes reward desensitisation, a state where the brain becomes less responsive to what once felt satisfying. Common symptoms of reward desensitisation include:
- Difficulty finding satisfaction in small wins.
- Reduced motivation for long-term goals.
- Dependence on larger or more frequent stimuli to feel good.
Much like addiction, over-reliance on instant gratification dulls the brain’s ability to enjoy effort-driven accomplishments. Over time, this can lead to the need for increasing levels of stimulation to experience the same sense of joy. For instance, a person with a healthy, low-sugar diet might experience a significant dopamine boost from eating just one piece of chocolate. In contrast, someone who consumes chocolate regularly may require larger quantities to achieve the same level of gratification, as their brain becomes desensitised to the reward.
The same phenomenon also occurs in corporate settings. Consider, for example, a high-performing employee who is constantly bombarded with instant dopamine throughout the day: likes on their social media, rapid-fire email approvals, notifications about rising stock prices, etc. Over time, these small and very frequent rewards may diminish the satisfaction they once felt from more effortful, strategic accomplishment, such as closing a year-long deal, or building a new division. Their brain becomes conditioned to instant gratification, reducing the focus on long-term goals as well as the effort and motivation required to achieve them.
Recalibrating Your Dopamine System
It is not about eliminating dopamine but about recalibrating your brain’s reward system. This practice, often called dopamine reset, involves intentionally limiting instant gratification to restore balance.
Here is how to retrain your brain for sustainable motivation and joy:
- Exercise regularly: Exercise provides a dopamine boost, but it requires effort. Research by Bastioli et al. (2022) shows a 30-40% increase in dopamine production after 30 days of consistent exercise. Activities like swimming, running, weightlifting, or yoga restore the brain’s connection to effort-based rewards.
- Practise mindfulness and meditation: Relaxation reduces overstimulation and improves focus. Kjaer et al. (2002) found that dopamine levels increased by 65% in experienced meditators compared to novices. Start with guided meditations, breathwork, or even 10-20 minutes of stillness daily.
- Have cold showers: Cold exposure enhances the brain’s dopamine regulation. Immersing in 14°C water increases dopamine levels by 250% (Šrámek et al., 2000). A 2-3 minute cold shower in the morning builds mental toughness and sharpens focus.
- Eat nutrient-dense foods: A balanced diet helps stabilise dopamine production (Maier et al., 2023). To support healthy dopamine production, focus on foods rich in magnesium (e.g., spinach, almonds, dark chocolate), sources of omega-3 fatty acids (e.g., salmon, flaxseeds, walnuts) and tyrosine-rich foods (e.g., almonds, chicken, bananas).
- Try intermittent fasting: Intermittent fasting can restore dopamine sensitivity, making even small accomplishments feel rewarding. Research by de Cabo & Mattson (2019) suggests extended fasting increases dopamine receptor sensitivity, enhancing motivation. Start with a 12-16 hour fasting window 3-4 times per week.
Building a Sustainable Dopamine Strategy
Cultivating a high-performance mindset is not just changing habits, but it also requires moderation and intentionality. Here is how:
- Limit overstimulation: Reduce the frequency to visit social networks, watching series or movies and almost no fast food consumption. Instead, see about taking a quick power walk or getting engrossed in a book or even avoid using your phone during mealtime. These changes are good for your brain since they assist in bringing it back to the normal level of dopamine production.
- Engage in effort-driven activities: As for what you should or should not do, most of your efforts should go into activities that create value, such as deep work, exercise, and even things you may initially dislike. These activities stimulate effort-based dopaminergic release promoting fulfilment and enthusiasm.
- Focus on restorative habits: Use methods involving stress reduction, always prioritise to get quality sleep, and finally, make relaxation a part of your daily living, all these will favour high levels of dopamine.
Embrace Effort, Elevate Performance, and Enjoy the Journey
Sustained high motivation, and therefore, performance requires more than willpower; it involves aligning long-term rewards with your brain’s natural reward system. While dopamine provides the initial motivation, you can reshape your relationship with it to build a continuous supply of drive and satisfaction.
Think of it as designing your own motivation feedback loop. In organisations, meaningful rewards tied to effort stimulate further effort. This approach, i.e., prioritising effort-based rewards, is the antidote to our dopamine-saturated, instant gratification culture. High performance is not just about reaching goals – it is about enjoying the process that gets you there!
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