Dopamine!
Gemini Ai...prompt: image: Sloth looking at all the possible dopamine inducing urges for example dope, coffee, clog writing, gaming, completing to-do list, other sloths!
Interestingly, it knew I meant 'blog' not 'clog' but... I'm not sure why one of the images shows a sloth playing with wood...I guess that gives off a certain dopamine hit!
What is it? How do we get it? Does it affect us all the same?
First side track of this blog, (ok, I was sidetracked by the image, so this is now number 2!) Woo, we're in for a bumpy ride this morning!
(I mean, do you get a 'buzz' from coffee? Does it give you any more alertness or focus? I don't think it affects me at all...However, I find myself drawn to it, even when I'm procrastinating, I'm happy to walk through and make some coffee...even when it doesn't seem to fulfil any real purpose, other than to give me something to do/drink. I mean, I'm not even sure I enjoy the flavour of it?!? I used to fill my coffee with sugar, but cut that out years ago, however I still have the same urge to have coffee...Am I addicted? Probably not. I can just as easily go without it. It's more a routine sort of thing, like smoking or walking to the empty fridge when you're bored.)
So, this morning, I saw a video about Dopamine! We all need it? Want it? Crave it? But what happens when we're a little sloth?
This goes back to one of my last posts was it this one?.
Procrastinating my procrastination away!
Yes, I even procrastinate on my procrastinating! Now that's super slothly!
Which brings us back to the video I saw this morning. I don't have a link, and I'm not going looking for it. It was only a short, I think on X, you know, that mind numbing way to start your day! You haven't even rolled out of bed yet, but you're already procrastinating on a Sunday morning!
But, more to the point, the video was inspiring, exhilarating, ok, maybe not, but it got me to thinking for the next 30 seconds at least!
Why are we (am I) lazy? Are we lazy, or too focused on the thought of 'doing' instead of the reward of doing? I mean, that kind of makes sense, right?
Like, why do we think so much about the 'effort' of something, rather than the payoff? The example the video went on to make was having kids. Most women say they never want to go through pregnancy again, yet tend to have more than one kid. So the payoff is much better than the effort to get there.
The same can be said for almost anything in life. Why do we do anything? For the most part, we're looking for the reward at the end of the effort. We want that 'dopamine' hit!
Dopamine is such a common word these days, I can't remember hearing much about it before, like 3 years ago, though, what even is it? Google's 'AI' overview (why is everything AI these days! Although, make life easier for a sloth!) 'Dopamine is a neurotransmitter and hormone that plays a crucial role in the brain's reward system, influencing feelings of pleasure, motivation, and movement. It's involved in various functions, including mood, attention, and learning. Imbalances in dopamine levels are linked to conditions like Parkinson's disease, ADHD, and addiction.'
Sounds easy enough, dopamine is our internal reward system. You know, the thing that makes sloth check into his Habitica app a couple of times a day just to hear the little ping of completing a task! It's still, almost, kinda, keeping me hooked. That's been like 2 weeks already and I think I've checked in every day! I know a couple of days I didn't complete all my dailies...slothly does what a slothly do!
Where were we...
Dopamine is a core part of the body's function! That reminds me, why have I heard a lot more about it over the last few years, ADHD? Apparently, we all have it now, we're on the spectrum or something. Interestingly, the more I learned about ADHD, the more it explained a lot of my life! However, I'm not officially diagnosed, so I'm just chasing clout! I want the special tag that everyone has these days! We're all a little...kooky? Can we say things like that or is that offensive or something, if I'm talking about myself its ok surely?
Kooky...Weird word, I spelt it cooky then had a quick search to see if I was using it correctly, I knew it meant a little odd or eccentric, but appears it's spelt with a k, makes sense I guess, kook, kooky...a cook is clearly something different! Although, a kook cook could be interesting, someone like Heston Blumenthal maybe?
So, where were we? Ah yes, are we lazy, or just pessimistic and focusing on the wrong things? Could we realign ourselves to focus on the 'reward', that dopamine hit? Instead of the effort it takes to get it? I mean, writing this post is a prime example. If i don't write it, I don't lose anything. But if I do, I could get comments, engagement, upvotes and of course, being on Hive, earn some rewards! All those little dopamine hits that make the day better!
I mean, I'd probably get more from actually going out and engaging on other people's content, giving them a little dopamine hit, which in turn would give them more inspiration to reply, giving me a notification and some dopamine in return...maybe that is the key to me being more engaged on Hive. Do it for myself! Farm those dopamine hits off all you peasants! LOL! That's right, Sloth knows how to get people excited to chat with him, call them all kooky peasants! Imagine if anyone manages to read through my kooky writing far enough to read this part! 'You had me in the first half sloth' they might say!
So, yeah, along with my 'just do it' attitude, which I'm trying to maintain. It's a struggle, I must admit, there have been a few days where I've slipped back into my sloth life!* I'm also going to try to remember to think about things in reverse, forgetting the effort that is required to do things, and think about the reward at the end. I remember making so many examples of things that were 'just too much effort'. Like getting up and walking 10 paces to get my laptop. Damn, the pain, the turmoil! Or, one of my main hates in life, doing the dishes! That just sucks! But the new, improved Just Do It sloth says: Think about all those gleaming utensils, ready to be dirtied again with another fantastic meal! Yes, Just Do it sloth is also a sarcastic asshole just like normal lazy sloth! Ok, so that one still had some working to do! I still hate even the thought of having to do the dishes!
As long as I can push myself to be more proactive, hopefully the habits and minor dopamine releases will help to push me forward! In this life of abundance, nothing hits the same anymore! We have too much, but really too little. Our life is spent getting little dopamine buzzes from X or YouTube (TikTok for all your young ones!). We no longer appreciate and value the real dopamine hits, like creating content and enjoying the engagement of others. We all want the fast and lazy sloth buzz that keeps us placated until the next fix!
I guess sometimes we just have to look forward, be optimistic and undoubtedly grateful for what we have! Maybe this is the real key I'm missing! Appreciating the little things in life that make everything buzz just the way it does! And with that, I'm ready to hit publish, bring on that dopamine buzz!
Until next time,
Sloth out!