Why you seek motivation? (and why you DON’T need to!)

Motivation seems very hard to find.

It’s easy to understand why many of us get so intensely caught up in the rhythms of daily life — when it feels like it’s hard to stay afloat, prioritizing your own happiness can take a backseat. Unfortunately, this happens all too often in today’s busy world. Our daily lives can be tricky and full of complexity, and it’s no surprise that it can become incredibly easy to fall out of touch with life amidst so much going on. Without motivation, it’s hard to keep up with daily tasks, reach goals, and even just find joy in the little things.

But do we really need motivation to run our lives?

If you ever find yourself in an “unmotivated state” — then it may be time to examine your dopamine levels. Unsurprisingly, dopamine plays an important role in our motivation and motivation can suffer if we experience an unbalanced dopamine reward system. We all need that dopamine stimulus to get out of bed, hit the gym or add that extra something to a project; without it, even the simplest of tasks can feel daunting and next to impossible.

What you should do instead seeking motivation?

Unbalanced dopamine levels are an Achilles’ heel in today’s fast-paced society, causing many people to feel sluggish and unmotivated. Taking stock of your dopamine reward system is the best way to ensure you’re not falling behind due to a deficiency of stimulation. Get the jump on success by understanding the importance of your dopamine stimulation and taking active steps to get it balanced! Just think of how much faster you could be reaching your goals if you give that ol’ dopamine reward system what it needs!

Here are some suggestions to get back your life:

• A few minutes each day for self-reflection or inspiration could be the difference between a lackluster day and an incredibly productive one. Daily gratitude wrtiting have been very helpful for me — allowing an early morning boost of positivity and direction.
• Lucky for us living in this technology-minded age, finding that spark isn’t hard! From podcasts to blogs, there are plenty of ways to tap into that sustainable energy coming from the dopamine reward system so we can to tackle life’s demands.
• Healthy habits are an important core element to sustaining a regular drop of dopamine; if we continue our habits as intended, we’ll find ourselves enriched with energy to tackle the day as opposed to feeling drained and overwhelmed. More often than not, the habits that we build and maintain are reflective of what kind of life values we possess and prioritize — for example, if you consistently procrastinate or live too much in your comfort zone, chances are you won’t be able to hold onto any form of motivation for long. If you take ownership over your personal habits, however, along with working towards valuable goals and a purposeful approach — it’s likely that you’ll find yourself filled up to the brim with inspiration!
• Exercise and training are hard but invaluable tools. Finding your best fit and routine will give you the much needed stimulation and even full body regulation. Seek a trainer or a mentor in this one too.

In conclusion, understanding the dopamine reward system is more beneficial than relying on external motivation.

It can be hard to stay motivated in times of hardship and easy to become discouraged. By focusing on the internal system that works like a cycle and the pleasure we get from completing tasks successfully, it’s much easier to stay productive and satisfy our creative instincts. We don’t need our motivation given to us externally but instead can use our intrinsic reward systems to find our own rewards within.

This is part of my “why” blog series as I deep dive to our modern day struggles. Read another post here. The audio version of this blog can be found here.

Originally published at https://www.whitehatstoic.com on January 21, 2023.