Read time: 2 mins
Welcome to The Brain and Body Warrior.
A blueprint of lived lesson to help you understand your brain, conquer your body and develop your warrior mindset.
On today’s menu: The problem with always seeking more.
The Warrior
“But I want that.”
It’s the language of dopamine. Of our brain’s desire to seek more.
Nowadays, it’s also something that I hear a lot.
My son is now four, you see. As such, they are his words of choice.
Everywhere we go his dopaminergic brain, unfiltered and unhindered by any higher prefrontal cognition, simply demands immediate satisfaction.
Toys. Junk Food. Shiny objects. It doesn't matter.
As the supposedly rational one, with a fully developed prefrontal cortex, it’s my job to talk his brain down.
I tell him to make the most of what he has already. To be grateful. Not to always seek more.
Though saying this made me feel wise and sage, like some enlightened modern monk, the words also felt hollow.
But why?
Then the unfortunate truth dawned on me one day:
Because I have a highly dopaminergic brain too.
I want. I seek. I often don’t appreciate what’s at hand.
Damn.
Nothing like having children reflect your own behavior back on you, hey?
The reality is, to varying degrees, all of us have dopaminergic brains. And for good reason. That’s how you survive in world of scarcity.
But in a modern world of abundance it’s a recipe of serious discontent, delay and procrastination.
What it often means, I’ve found, is that when we have a problem or are striving towards something, we often ignore the resources we have at hand in lieu of things that are new and shiny.
This is especially true in the health and wellness space.
With new trends, hacks and supposed miracle (i.e. expensive) protocols constantly appearing on social media, and dominating the conversation around health and longevity, it can be easy to overlook the basics we can already control of.
This is certainly my weakness.
In looking for ways to ‘optimize’ my health I often ignore, forget about or just don’t bother with the basics (or stuff that’s otherwise free or easily accessible).
What I eat. Hydration. Breathing. Mediation. Yoga. These things probably have a greater impact on my health and longevity. But hey, often they aren’t shiny or exciting enough to satisfy my dopaminergic brain.
But I’m working on that. Trying to tell myself what I tell my son.
But for me the important takeaway really is this:
Don’t ignore what’s in front of you. Don’t overlook the resources you have at hand. Often, you can achieve more than you realize with what you already have.
This is what I’m trying to train myself to do, and realize, more often.
If this is something you’re struggling with like me, one question to ask yourself is this:
What resources do I already have on hand to tackle the task I’m faced with?
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Mind elaborating why a dopaminergic brain is commensurate with a world of scarcity...