🚀 Dopamine Detox
Why it's so hard to do anything...
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🤨 Why is it that you can Netflix for hours, but work or study for 10 minutes is hard?
In this article, we'll explore this topic. I'll show you how you can overcome this bad habit and take control of your life again! 💪🏼
I know it's a big promise...
But you'll see! 👀
Before we get started, let's see...
🚀 How's the challenge going?
🤷🏽♂️ Positioning (almost) done
We've got the results, now we just need to go over and discuss the remaining questions with the guys. 1 thing left to do that you guys can help with.
I need a sentence for the BookBase to easily identify what it is and what it does exactly? Which of the below do you think would best fit the BookBase? Which one would help you understand the essence of the BookBase? 💭
👾 Discord
Discord with BookBase is spinning at max. There are events organized all the time and people are active in the chat room. I feel a tight core is starting to form!
I just gave a talk on Tuesday on Improving Communication and gave all my knowledge in 45 minutes. Someone took notes throughout! 📝
Last week Ati and Zsolti held a Chess tutorial and tournament!
So, it's worth joining: here will be an Invitation! (HUN) 💌
🤖 1 AI that could be ready by summer
In our Positioning exercise, it came out that it would help a lot if we could personalize the learning plan with the AI. So, we will write our own AI in the summer to help us with the assignments at the end of the books. 👨🏽💻
It will take self-improvement to a new level!
I guarantee it! 🔒
After this, there will be no question why it's worth using BookBase too, in addition to reading the full books. 😉
Okay, now we can start!
Let's see... 👀
💭 Why is this important to understand?
It's all based on an experiment from the 1900s. The famous "Marshmallow Test", which was written about in a book. The experiment took several decades, but I'll briefly summaries it for you. 🍡
The basic concept was that there were little children in a room. One of the professors conducting the experiment put a bowl of marshmallows in the middle and told the kids that they had to leave now. He asked them to NOT take any of the sugar until then and if they complied, when he came back, they would get 2x as much. ❌
Some kids couldn't take it and bought it. Or there were some who waited patiently and then took the beans. 🍡🍡
30 years later, the same children were studied and it was shown that the children who waited for the reward were on average more successful in life than those who chose the immediate (smaller) reward. 🧐
💡 Side note: The outcome was influenced by a number of things, the children's family background, their personality and their habits, but overall, patience and delaying the reward do play an important role in achieving success!
Source: https://www.simplypsychology.org/marshmallow-test.html
📕 Book recommendations: "Don’t eat the marshmallow…Yet!" by Joachim de Posada, is about exactly this experiment. If you're interested in more, you can find it in BookBase! 🎧
The problem is that many of us are also rushing through life without even realizing it. 🫣
The average young person spends 6 hours and 57 minutes a day in front of their phone, 2 hours and 27 minutes of which are spent on social media. ⏰
Social Media that is specifically optimized to pull you in and never let you go. This phenomenon is particularly well explained in the book "Hooked" and the Netflix documentary "The Social Dilemma". 🎞
📕 Book review: "Hooked" by Nir Eyal is a masterpiece on this topic, we read it with Kokesz on how to make the App more inviting to young people. After all, if BookBase is addictive, at least it's to your advantage, unlike Facebook.
But why can social media do this? 🤔
In short, because of the variety of rewards.
Varied rewards are likes, comments, unread posts, follows, etc. Whenever you open the app, something happens that you like. But you'll understand in a moment.
Our whole well-being depends on 4 hormones. 🧬
We call them the happiness hormones.
They are:
😊 Endorphin
☺️ Oxytocin
😌 Serotonin
🤩 And Dopamine
We're going to talk about the last one, because Dopamine is much more than just a happy hormone. It is also responsible for willpower and satisfaction! 💪🏼
📕 Book recommendation: The book "How to be happier" by Tal Ben-Shahar is a good read for those who want to learn more about happiness. Of course, you can find it in BookBase! 🎧
Also in the 1900s, an experiment was done that showed the dangers of overdosing on Dopamine. I'll explain that, briefly. 🧪
The experiment was about implanting electrodes in the brains of rats. A place where they could stimulate the production of Dopamine. When the rats pressed a big button with their noses, the electrode "stimulated" (i.e., tingled) the part of their brain where this Dopamine hormone is produced. This released a lot more Dopamine hormone for a brief moment. 🐀
The problem was that it made the rats feel so good that they literally kept squeezing it. They didn't sleep, they didn't eat and they kept pushing until they were so tired, they died. ☠️
In the other part of the experiment, a pair of rats were saved from death, but had the dopamine hormone blocked directly in their brains. And the rats fell into such a state of depression that they wouldn't even eat unless food was specifically put in front of their mouths. 😪
💡 Side note: This behavior is a bit similar to drug and alcohol addicts, but I'll write more about that later.
⛲️ Source: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/rat-studies-elucidate-the/
Your brain works in an interesting way, as it tries to prioritize your tasks based on how much Dopamine reward it can potentially get. Your brain doesn't care whether or not the activity will move you forward, it simply looks at how much Dopamine you will get in return. 🧠
🅰️ Social Media releases a lot of dopamine. Your brain will be more impressed with 1 hour of Netflix series than 1 hour of work.
🅱️ Studying releases less Dopamine because it's boring
💡 Side note: It's not necessarily boring, it's just that your brain is so used to Dopamine that this particular action, doesn't hit that level. But relax there will be a solution!
The interesting thing is that it's the same with food. It's much better to eat a BigMac at McDonald's than a spinach stew. That's because BigMac is full of flavor enhancers and releases more dopamine in your brain. You perceive it as "tastier" and that's exactly why it's very difficult to stick to a healthy diet when your brain is used to "miracles" full of flavor enhancers. 🍔
But let's look at exactly how much Dopamine some things release. So, you'll see the difference:
🍔 If you're thirsty or hungry and you eat something delicious (this includes chocolate), your Dopamine levels increase by 50%.
🍑 If you have sex, it jumps to 100%.
🚬 If you smoke, it jumps to 150% in no time because of nicotine.
💊 And finally, for class A drugs, it's 1,000%, you're right, 1,000.
That's exactly why Cocaine and Amphetamine addicts look a lot like the rats in the above experiment. Their baseline Dopamine levels are already so high that nothing but drugs can beat it, so they do it non-stop until they either die or go into withdrawal. ☠️
This is why these types of drugs are also unrealistically dangerous, because they can become addictive in no time, even in a person with a strong nerve! 😵💫
I'll tell you a few more things that release similar amounts of Dopamine and don't move you forward in life at all:
🍀 Gambling
🎮 Computer games
🔞 Porn
🎞 Movies, series
👍🏼 Social Media
If you only do these activities, your brain will easily get used to them and from then on it will become the norm for it. Which is not good news for you, because from then on, anything below that will be "boring". 😪
And generally, all the things that move you forward in life will be underneath.
📕 Book recommendations: One book that specifically describes this is none other than "Dopamine Nation" by Anna Lembke. She scientifically explains the pursuit of pleasure and of course you can listen to this one at BookBase! 🎧
💡 Side note: I was a computer game addict back in the day. I used to be a computer game addict. I was losing friends because of gaming and ruining my health by playing late into the night. So, it's really not funny. Plus, I have to say, if I had read articles/books like this when I was 15-16 instead of playing, I would have 3x the wealth I have today, I'm 99.9% sure of that! No problem, what's late is never late, I just wanted to draw your attention to the importance of this! 💰
Dan Bilzerian, the famous Poker star/Playboy, talked about the same thing. He had a 3-hour podcast on London Real (here is a 10-minute summary) where he specifically said that money can't buy happiness (this is not entirely true, but we will find out in the next OM Documentary) 😏
Money can only buy you dopamine and that's pretty dangerous because after that, it becomes the norm for you. You always need more and more. 🦛🐘🦣
He gave an example that if you were to get a Ferrari from him, it would really spike your Dopamine levels and you would be out of your skin, but then if your parents bought you a Mercedes and you had to drive it, it would give you a permanent sadness after the Ferrari. If it were the other way round, you'd be happy with both. Interesting point and very true! 🧐
We don't realize it, but WE are addicted to this system. 😵💫
We eat "marshmallows" like the children in the experiment. And while we are busy doing that, we don't have time to develop ourselves and build a better future. 🍡
But there is good news, it can be done. 🫵🏼
I'll show you...
🧐 How to break out of this?
There's a method that has helped tens of thousands of people change their lives (and no, it's NOT paid). Anyone can start for free and you don't even have to register anywhere. ✅
The method is called Dopamine Detox
It's all about consciously depriving yourself of Dopamine for a period of time, so your Dopamine receptors reset and you'll have a lot less Dopamine to be happier. Not only will we be happier, but our willpower will change.
There must have been things in the past that you didn't want to do because they were too boring. Well, that's because your Dopamine levels are set too high so that task wouldn't give you the Dopamine you need, that's why you don't do it. Logical, right?! 🧠
But once that Dopamine level is restored, you'll be able to do those tasks more easily. 💪🏼
How does Dopamine Detox work?
The idea is that you shut everything out for 1 day. Just for one day! 🌞
❌ No: TV, phone, social, etc.
🎯 The goal: make the day as boring as possible!
💭 The explanation: so, your Dopamine receptors go back to normal.
🏆 The result: you will be more motivated in the following days!
This is the most effective way to get your Dopamine levels back to normal. But, if that's too drastic, I'll show you a lighter version:
Every week, pick 1 day where you exclude 1 bad activity, it could be porn, social media or Netflix. The key is to exclude just one, but exclude it completely. ❌
It's much slower to take effect, but it works! 🐌
What should you do during the Dopamine Detox?
🚶🏼 Walk,
📝 Journal writing on a page,
🧘🏼♂️ Meditation,
📖 Reading,
🎧 BookBase
🫂 Meeting friends, but NOT online
If that wasn't enough guidance, listen up now, because I've compiled for you all the little tricks, I've learned in 5 years of doing this.
✅ What can help you on your way?
[ ] First, set limits on how many times a day you can use your Apps. 20-30 minutes a day might be a good starting number. Then reduce these gradually. ⏰
[ ] Step two, turn on the "Greyscale" feature on your phone, which you can find in the utility options, so your phone will be full black and white and it will be very boring to use. For me, just this one step reduced my screen time by 40%, which is several hours. Plus, a tip, for me, on my iPhone, it's set up so that if I press the screen lock button 3 times, it automatically turns on. That way I can easily set it myself, depending on what I'm doing (if you're meeting friends, it's worth turning it on, as you won't be on the phone as much in company). It's even worth experimenting with shortcuts, for example: 7am to 5pm to be on automatically, etc. 🔲
[ ] Third, organize your Apps into Folders (I'm progressing now, I'm fucking up my time now, I'm recharging now, etc.). That way your brain knows what you're doing and tries to do the right thing. Plus, a tip, if you put these folders on a far screen, so that you have to scroll a lot to get to them, it also reduces the usage, as you've made it harder to get to. 🗃
[ ] Step four, put your phone in "Do Not Disturb" mode so no one can call you, EXCEPT if you put the most important people in Favorites and set them to call you, but other people CANNOT! 📞
[ ] Plus, a tip I learned from Napoleon. Reply to messages more slowly, as often the problem solves itself. Napoleon would reply to his letter’s days later and often the problem would have solved itself by then. 📨
A basic idea to get you started. If at any time you find yourself not wanting to do something, think about this:
"Okay, don't do that task, but then don't do anything instead. Literally, nothing, just be bored."
Thank you for reading through, I hope you enjoyed the letter and that you will start the Dopamine Detox.
⚠️ With that momentum, I'd like to invite you to a Challenge! ⚠️
Next week, pick 1 day and try the Dopamine Detox yourself. 🧪
Let me know in the comments if you're up for it, you'll be making a commitment. Then after you've done it, reply to your own comment and describe the results. ✏️
This YouTube Challenge was very well received on YouTube back in the day, I hope you like it too! 🔥
🔥 Challenge
Now we have a couple of challenges. 😅
One is for Edu to be able to plug in the CRM spreadsheet and filter out Bugs in the App. Because we find a lot of bugs that only occur in individuals and we don't understand why. 🪲
And the other one is for Kokesz, who has the Webapp on the table. More specifically, making the Webapp responsive. But he said that the code he wrote a few months ago is so bad that he might rewrite the whole thing (that's how much progress the guys have made in a few months). 📟
Also, a big lesson for me is that the more platforms you're on, the more time it takes to throw out 1 update for 1, because with a little overkill, you have to do it for each one separately. 🛠
It's also important to keep the focus, because Edu is taking a big leap in developing predictive AIs, it's just not the main focus right now. So, I need to find the happy medium for ME to let it unfold, but also move forward with Roadmap. 🚗
📕 Book Recommendation: "Essentialism" by Greg McKeown will be a big help for me here. I first listened to this on BookBase and have just ordered it, in full format. It helps a lot to recognize and focus on the important things! 🎧
The Discord server, is literally soaring (Zsolti, Nemo, Kokesz, Edu and Ati are taking a huge part). We are already planning an offline meeting for BookBase members. It's going to be a tough ride, as I haven't organized many of these before. It will be another deep water for me. 🤝
All in all, we're doing well and I couldn't be more grateful to have such a team! 🫂
📖 What have I just read?
True, I didn't have a philosophy class this time because of Pentecost Monday. But I did pull out an old book by one of my favorite authors. Joshua Lynott, a guy younger than me, but a real genius. Not because he's very smart, but more because he understood the meaning of life at such a young age and lives his life that way. I have spoken to him several times in writing, thankfully! 🙏🏻
He has a book that is typically a "Coffee Table Book", so it would look great as a coffee table ornament. It's just pictures and each picture have 1 quote. They're small quotes, but they're quite profound and sometimes I find myself thinking about them. 🤔
This book is, unfortunately, brutally hard to get hold of. But, if I can recommend 1 book to you, it should be this one this month! 😉
🎧 What have I just listened to?
I just listened to a summary of Building a StoryBrand by Donald Miller. The book itself helps you to understand exactly what stories you can tell your potential customers, once you have your positioning, that will help them understand the essence of your product. 📢
The book itself isn't bad, although I didn't get too far into it because the summary was pretty chunky. I might tell the boys to summarize it for me, because I'll get more out of it! 😉
I haven't bought it in full format yet because I'm not convinced by the summary, plus I promised I'd only read a new book once I had the previous one 100% integrated into BookBase. And as you can see above, we are only about 95% of the way there. 🏁
✍🏼 Top quote
"Less is sometimes more." ~ Unknown