1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:01,680 Today we're going to talk about dopamine. 2 00:00:01,800 --> 00:00:03,920 It's the evolutionary system within our brains responsible 3 00:00:03,920 --> 00:00:07,680 for how we feel and it drives ambition, focus, and the desire 4 00:00:07,680 --> 00:00:09,800 to pursue things outside of ourselves. 5 00:00:09,840 --> 00:00:12,160 How well someone's dopamine system is working as the main 6 00:00:12,160 --> 00:00:15,160 reason why some people seem unstoppable high achievers. 7 00:00:15,160 --> 00:00:17,880 So how can you actually hack the dopamine system to maximize 8 00:00:17,880 --> 00:00:20,880 motivation, forge focus and achieve peak performance in 9 00:00:20,880 --> 00:00:23,640 every endeavour that you tackle? Now, most people think the more 10 00:00:23,640 --> 00:00:26,800 dopamine, more stimulation and constant rewards equals more 11 00:00:26,800 --> 00:00:28,640 motivation. But here's the twist. 12 00:00:28,840 --> 00:00:30,880 It's not true. In fact, facing dopamine highs 13 00:00:30,880 --> 00:00:33,640 all the time can kill your motivation, wreck your results 14 00:00:33,640 --> 00:00:36,000 and even push you towards burnout, addiction and 15 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:38,000 depression. I've put hours into digging into 16 00:00:38,000 --> 00:00:41,400 the science of this and what I found flips the usual advice on 17 00:00:41,400 --> 00:00:43,280 its head. So in this podcast, I'm going to 18 00:00:43,280 --> 00:00:46,320 break down my 4 top dopamine hacks that you can use to boost 19 00:00:46,320 --> 00:00:49,800 motivation, sharpen focus and actually achieve your goals. 20 00:00:49,840 --> 00:00:51,520 Now a quick introduction. I'm Terry. 21 00:00:51,520 --> 00:00:54,480 I'm just an average bloke, but I have a deep interest in the 22 00:00:54,480 --> 00:00:57,160 psychology of performance. And over the last five years 23 00:00:57,160 --> 00:00:59,200 I've been putting this into practice. 24 00:00:59,200 --> 00:01:01,800 I've set a world world record for the world's largest GPS 25 00:01:01,800 --> 00:01:05,600 drawing of a penis. Yeah, that actually happened. 72 26 00:01:05,600 --> 00:01:07,640 miles. I've become an award-winning 27 00:01:07,640 --> 00:01:10,160 challenge athlete. And I've even built Rockman, an 28 00:01:10,160 --> 00:01:12,680 online running and functional fitness challenge platform that 29 00:01:12,680 --> 00:01:15,960 uses principles like this to push people past their limits 30 00:01:16,080 --> 00:01:19,040 and help them become better. And if you want my list of my 31 31 00:01:19,040 --> 00:01:21,960 favorite mindset strategies I've put together, there's a link in 32 00:01:21,960 --> 00:01:24,840 the description below. All right, let's dive in. 33 00:01:47,400 --> 00:01:49,080 Number one, protect your baseline. 34 00:01:49,080 --> 00:01:51,520 Don't just chase peaks. Now you may think that more 35 00:01:51,520 --> 00:01:54,760 dopamine equals more motivation, but in reality, spikes can drop 36 00:01:54,760 --> 00:01:57,880 your baseline, leaving you flat and even depressed afterwards. 37 00:01:58,080 --> 00:02:01,160 Protecting your baseline is the real key, and here's how to do 38 00:02:01,160 --> 00:02:02,880 it. So basically, we always have a 39 00:02:02,880 --> 00:02:04,880 level of dopamine running through our system. 40 00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:08,120 This is essentially our baseline, and when we partake in 41 00:02:08,120 --> 00:02:11,080 activities that spike or stimulate dopamine, we get these 42 00:02:11,080 --> 00:02:14,600 peaks in the dopamine chemical. But it's not these peaks that 43 00:02:14,600 --> 00:02:17,600 determine our satisfaction or enjoyment of that activity, it's 44 00:02:17,600 --> 00:02:20,120 the peaks in relation to the baseline. 45 00:02:20,320 --> 00:02:23,600 For example, if you get a spike in dopamine with some sort of 46 00:02:23,600 --> 00:02:26,280 activity and you enjoy it, so you have a cheeky tug. 47 00:02:26,520 --> 00:02:29,400 Then the next time you get a spike in dopamine, as it hasn't 48 00:02:29,400 --> 00:02:31,840 returned all the way back down to baseline, it's got a shorter 49 00:02:31,840 --> 00:02:34,880 distance between where it is until the peak, so therefore 50 00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:36,760 there is a less satisfaction about it. 51 00:02:36,880 --> 00:02:39,760 Now after major peaks of dopamine, we also experience a 52 00:02:39,760 --> 00:02:43,520 crash and this can leave us below our baseline levels. 53 00:02:43,840 --> 00:02:47,880 This is where we can start to feel depressed, low energy, a 54 00:02:47,880 --> 00:02:50,280 bit like what's the point? You see, we only have a certain 55 00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:52,720 amount of ready available dopamine within our bodies. 56 00:02:52,880 --> 00:02:56,160 And if you use it all up in one big peak, then you're going to 57 00:02:56,160 --> 00:02:58,640 run out and it's going to drop below baseline. 58 00:02:58,640 --> 00:03:01,680 And that's where you're going to feel grumpy, Moody, lack of 59 00:03:01,680 --> 00:03:05,120 energy, lack of effort, unmotivated, and it's going to 60 00:03:05,120 --> 00:03:07,280 take time for that baseline to return to normal. 61 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:10,400 Think of it like a toilet. When you smash the flush the 62 00:03:10,400 --> 00:03:15,080 first time it works, it's great, but if you smash it again soon 63 00:03:15,080 --> 00:03:17,400 after, you're only getting sort of little dribbles. 64 00:03:17,560 --> 00:03:20,280 And if you keep smashing it then you run the system dry, all your 65 00:03:20,360 --> 00:03:23,240 dopamine is being used up is empty and there's a big 66 00:03:23,240 --> 00:03:25,720 unflushed turd in the basin. This explains where you get post 67 00:03:25,720 --> 00:03:27,880 event Blues. Say you've done a massive Iron 68 00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:31,080 Man, or a marathon, or an ultra, or even a 5K. 69 00:03:31,200 --> 00:03:34,120 It's all relative to the person, but once you've done it, once 70 00:03:34,120 --> 00:03:37,480 you've achieved it, you sort of get that depression after and 71 00:03:37,480 --> 00:03:39,720 it's because you've used up all your dopamine. 72 00:03:39,920 --> 00:03:41,840 This could be a massive night out on the sash as well, 73 00:03:41,960 --> 00:03:44,560 especially if you're using a couple of recreationals. 74 00:03:44,800 --> 00:03:48,120 You use up all your dopamine. So then afterwards you do have 75 00:03:48,120 --> 00:03:49,840 these crashes. You're going to feel grumpy and 76 00:03:49,840 --> 00:03:52,720 depressed for the next few days while that dopamine level 77 00:03:52,720 --> 00:03:55,280 returns to baseline. And if you keep smashing it 78 00:03:55,280 --> 00:03:58,240 afterwards and you keep chasing dopamine highs to get back to 79 00:03:58,240 --> 00:04:01,640 where you were, all you're doing is putting yourself further and 80 00:04:01,640 --> 00:04:04,360 further under the baseline and into the hole. 81 00:04:04,360 --> 00:04:06,720 And This is why a lot of people, people can become addicted to 82 00:04:06,720 --> 00:04:10,200 certain activities. They get the high, then they get 83 00:04:10,200 --> 00:04:13,360 the crash, then they're chasing the high again. 84 00:04:13,480 --> 00:04:15,920 They go back to the activity, trying to get the spikes back 85 00:04:15,920 --> 00:04:17,720 up, but there's no dopamine there. 86 00:04:17,920 --> 00:04:20,640 And they just keep abusing, keep abusing because they need to get 87 00:04:20,640 --> 00:04:24,080 back to that high, but their dopamine's gone. 88 00:04:24,280 --> 00:04:27,920 So how do we solve it? It's through rest and recovery. 89 00:04:28,080 --> 00:04:31,240 Depending on how far you go below baseline depends on the 90 00:04:31,240 --> 00:04:33,840 high of the peak. The bigger the elation of the 91 00:04:33,840 --> 00:04:38,080 activity, then the longer it's going to take for you to return 92 00:04:38,080 --> 00:04:40,720 baseline. Now this could be a day, it 93 00:04:41,160 --> 00:04:43,080 could be a couple of days, it could be a week, it could be a 94 00:04:43,080 --> 00:04:46,200 month, it could be up to two months where you're feeling like 95 00:04:46,200 --> 00:04:48,480 this. But the best way thing to do is 96 00:04:48,480 --> 00:04:52,560 just to relax, understand that you need to let it return to 97 00:04:52,560 --> 00:04:55,840 baseline and sort of avoid all activities that induce high 98 00:04:55,840 --> 00:04:58,360 peaks of dopamine. It happens to me every time I do 99 00:04:58,360 --> 00:05:00,760 a challenge now. I ended up falling off the wagon 100 00:05:01,080 --> 00:05:04,520 because I've had the high of the event and then after the event, 101 00:05:04,640 --> 00:05:09,280 when that event is gone, I chase dopamine through maybe junk food 102 00:05:09,400 --> 00:05:11,320 and drink and other naughty stuff. 103 00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:13,880 What I'm doing is I'm just putting myself further and 104 00:05:13,880 --> 00:05:18,280 further in under that baseline. Nowadays I know what to expect. 105 00:05:18,640 --> 00:05:24,360 I allow myself a week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, no training, no going 106 00:05:24,360 --> 00:05:27,640 out, just rest and recovery and let that baseline come. 107 00:05:27,760 --> 00:05:30,560 You'll know when it's back because all of a sudden you'll 108 00:05:30,560 --> 00:05:32,000 start to get your motivation back. 109 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:33,400 You'll start thinking what's next? 110 00:05:33,400 --> 00:05:35,960 What challenge should I take on? You can also get stuck smashing 111 00:05:35,960 --> 00:05:39,400 your baseline, say after a big night out on the weekend, you're 112 00:05:39,400 --> 00:05:42,240 going to feel depressed. Then during the week you can end 113 00:05:42,240 --> 00:05:45,920 up to eating junk food, smoking, taking nicotine, eating 114 00:05:45,920 --> 00:05:49,520 chocolate, scrolling on your phone, all dopamine inducing 115 00:05:49,520 --> 00:05:51,440 activities. And while you think you might be 116 00:05:51,440 --> 00:05:54,160 taking a rest from the drinking, what you're doing is you're not 117 00:05:54,160 --> 00:05:56,840 allowing your baseline level of dopamine to return because you 118 00:05:56,840 --> 00:05:58,760 keep smashing it with other activities. 119 00:05:59,040 --> 00:06:01,640 The best way is just to relax. Now here's some things that 120 00:06:01,640 --> 00:06:05,200 increase your dopamine but also lead to crashes after. 121 00:06:05,360 --> 00:06:07,600 And you need to think of your dopamine sort of like a bank 122 00:06:07,600 --> 00:06:10,360 account. These activities are like payday 123 00:06:10,360 --> 00:06:12,880 loans. They're quick, they're fast, 124 00:06:13,040 --> 00:06:15,200 they put you into debt. So you might find this 125 00:06:15,200 --> 00:06:17,400 interesting. Chocolate can spike your 126 00:06:17,400 --> 00:06:26,080 dopamine by 1.5 X Porn, wanking, sex 2X binge eating 2X scrolling 127 00:06:26,160 --> 00:06:30,600 on your phone. Mindless scroman less, but it's 128 00:06:30,600 --> 00:06:32,920 more frequent and it creates compulsion. 129 00:06:33,840 --> 00:06:38,320 Then you've got nicotine 2.5 X. Oh no that's good, I do love a 130 00:06:38,320 --> 00:06:44,000 vape nowadays. Cocaine 2.5 X exercise will 2X 131 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:46,160 your dopamine. But there is a caveat to this. 132 00:06:46,240 --> 00:06:48,280 It's only exercise that you enjoy. 133 00:06:48,680 --> 00:06:51,360 If you don't enjoy it, you're not going to get the release of 134 00:06:51,360 --> 00:06:55,400 dopamine. Amphetamines, meth, heroin 135 00:06:56,160 --> 00:07:00,200 10X10X. Almost makes you want to think 136 00:07:00,200 --> 00:07:02,640 about trying it, doesn't it? That must be one hell of a drug. 137 00:07:02,640 --> 00:07:05,320 I'll tell you what, it's piqued my interest. 138 00:07:05,920 --> 00:07:07,840 Now, caffeine, we must talk about caffeine as well. 139 00:07:08,200 --> 00:07:10,800 Caffeine doesn't actually increase your dopamine that 140 00:07:10,800 --> 00:07:14,520 much, but what it does do is it blocks the receptors to the 141 00:07:14,520 --> 00:07:18,160 chemical, which tells you when you're tired, effectively making 142 00:07:18,160 --> 00:07:21,560 your dopamine go further. Now, by all means, keep 143 00:07:21,560 --> 00:07:24,240 partaking in all of these activities we've mentioned. 144 00:07:24,320 --> 00:07:27,440 You're all adults here. I can trust you all right, But 145 00:07:27,440 --> 00:07:29,840 the trick is not to abuse it. We talked about that rest. 146 00:07:29,840 --> 00:07:33,320 We need to let our dopamine levels return back to normal. 147 00:07:33,560 --> 00:07:37,320 So don't abuse it, pick it when it's needed, especially sort of 148 00:07:37,320 --> 00:07:39,480 performance enhancing stuff like caffeine. 149 00:07:39,560 --> 00:07:43,400 Use it when it's needed. If you abuse it, it's just going 150 00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:45,520 to keep smashing that baseline and keep you under. 151 00:07:45,680 --> 00:07:47,720 So what about some clean sources of dopamine? 152 00:07:48,160 --> 00:07:51,080 Dopamine which is more sustainable and prolonged and 153 00:07:51,080 --> 00:07:53,600 doesn't cause the crash? These are the healthy ways to do 154 00:07:53,600 --> 00:07:54,800 it. If we go back to the bank 155 00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:58,280 account analogy again, these are like your steady income. 156 00:07:58,520 --> 00:08:01,040 You've got sunlight 1.3 to 1.5 times. 157 00:08:01,520 --> 00:08:04,840 You've got the outdoors 1.1 to 1.2 times. 158 00:08:05,360 --> 00:08:09,080 You've got socializing, which is 1.4 to 2 times, which is quite 159 00:08:09,080 --> 00:08:11,440 strong compared to what we're just talking about earlier with 160 00:08:11,440 --> 00:08:14,000 The Dirty ones. And I can't believe I'm saying 161 00:08:14,000 --> 00:08:20,160 this, but cold water therapy you're in in an ice bath that 162 00:08:20,160 --> 00:08:24,600 can 2.5 X your dopamine and it's a prolonged release. 163 00:08:24,600 --> 00:08:28,240 It lasts for way longer than all the other ones at the top and it 164 00:08:28,240 --> 00:08:30,600 prevents the crash. And I've always said this, cold 165 00:08:30,600 --> 00:08:32,200 water baths are a bit like having a wank. 166 00:08:32,400 --> 00:08:35,679 They may feel good, but you don't actually achieve anything. 167 00:08:35,840 --> 00:08:38,600 But if you like a cold water bath, then go for it, get 168 00:08:38,600 --> 00:08:40,960 involved. It's these are healthy ways to 169 00:08:40,960 --> 00:08:43,600 actually manage your dopamine without causing the crashes. 170 00:08:43,840 --> 00:08:46,640 And why does this matter to what we're trying to achieve here? 171 00:08:46,840 --> 00:08:49,400 Because dopamine is for motivation. 172 00:08:49,560 --> 00:08:52,080 If you're going to slam it into the floor, if you're going to 173 00:08:52,080 --> 00:08:55,480 flush that bog and get rid of all your available dopamine, it 174 00:08:55,480 --> 00:08:58,800 will demotivate you. It will put you into a place of 175 00:08:59,600 --> 00:09:03,320 a lack of energy or a will or a drive to do anything. 176 00:09:03,520 --> 00:09:06,560 So if we can control it and make sure that we're protecting our 177 00:09:06,560 --> 00:09:08,400 baseline, then it's going to mean we're going to have the 178 00:09:08,400 --> 00:09:12,360 consistency to perform and have motivation going on for a lot, a 179 00:09:12,360 --> 00:09:14,560 lot longer. Now, protecting your baseline is 180 00:09:14,560 --> 00:09:18,240 one thing, but we also need to know how to manage our peaks. 181 00:09:18,400 --> 00:09:20,600 And then this next section I'll tell you how to do that. 182 00:09:20,720 --> 00:09:23,840 Number 2 on layer activities and manage your peaks. 183 00:09:24,000 --> 00:09:27,360 You may think that more simulation like music, caffeine, 184 00:09:27,360 --> 00:09:31,280 pre workout makes you perform better, but in reality it can 185 00:09:31,280 --> 00:09:34,320 cause huge crashes in motivation for the next day. 186 00:09:34,600 --> 00:09:37,240 This is why you should look to unlayer your activities. 187 00:09:37,400 --> 00:09:39,120 It's all about managing your peaks. 188 00:09:39,360 --> 00:09:41,720 The higher the peak is directly relatable to the bigger the 189 00:09:41,720 --> 00:09:44,440 crash. So if you can manage your peaks, 190 00:09:44,800 --> 00:09:47,360 not make them too big, then you're going to mitigate any 191 00:09:47,360 --> 00:09:49,200 sort of crashes in dopamine afterwards. 192 00:09:49,320 --> 00:09:52,000 It's like when you take a pre workout, you knock back an 193 00:09:52,000 --> 00:09:55,440 espresso, you put your tunes on and you go and smash out a leg 194 00:09:55,440 --> 00:09:57,520 day. Now this is all good and you may 195 00:09:57,520 --> 00:09:59,400 really enjoy that. But if you're doing that day 196 00:09:59,400 --> 00:10:01,960 after day after day, you're only going to be smashing that 197 00:10:01,960 --> 00:10:04,320 dopamine again, putting you on the baseline. 198 00:10:04,560 --> 00:10:06,640 Now, if you love whacking the tunes on or smashing a pre 199 00:10:06,640 --> 00:10:09,440 workout and doing a crazy leg day, then go for it. 200 00:10:09,480 --> 00:10:11,800 That's all good. But you just need to know that 201 00:10:11,800 --> 00:10:14,600 you need to manage it throughout the week because if you want to 202 00:10:14,600 --> 00:10:17,360 main contain any sort of consistency with your training 203 00:10:17,400 --> 00:10:21,640 or whichever endeavour that you're pursuing for longevity, 204 00:10:21,800 --> 00:10:24,840 you need to be managing your peaks to by adding those little 205 00:10:24,840 --> 00:10:28,240 add-ons to your session, you're making a bigger peak. 206 00:10:28,480 --> 00:10:30,920 But if you can choose to do the activity without those add-ons 207 00:10:30,920 --> 00:10:34,120 every now and then, then you're going to just protect that peak 208 00:10:34,320 --> 00:10:38,280 and prevent the crash. 1 tactic I read about was a coin flip. 209 00:10:38,720 --> 00:10:42,440 So you flip a coin before you'd start your session or whatever 210 00:10:42,440 --> 00:10:45,440 you're doing to see whether you're going to have music or a 211 00:10:45,440 --> 00:10:47,800 pre workout. That time, dopamine, love, 212 00:10:47,800 --> 00:10:50,040 surprise, you've got to keep it guessing. 213 00:10:50,040 --> 00:10:52,520 And why is this important? Because it gives you the 214 00:10:52,520 --> 00:10:54,760 longevity. It prevents that crash. 215 00:10:54,920 --> 00:10:57,680 It means that you can consistently aim at your targets 216 00:10:57,880 --> 00:11:00,720 without falling off the wagon. Now, we talked about protecting 217 00:11:00,720 --> 00:11:02,480 your peak, managing your baseline. 218 00:11:02,640 --> 00:11:04,680 That's all great. But now let's talk about 219 00:11:04,680 --> 00:11:07,200 actually achieving things and goals. 220 00:11:07,360 --> 00:11:09,840 That's why we're here, right? And that's why #3 is use clear 221 00:11:09,840 --> 00:11:12,280 goals and challenges to drive dopamine. 222 00:11:12,480 --> 00:11:14,640 Now, you may think that getting fitter or getting stronger is 223 00:11:14,640 --> 00:11:17,640 enough for motivation, but in reality, vague goals don't 224 00:11:17,640 --> 00:11:20,640 trigger dopamine. Effectively, dopamine spikes on 225 00:11:20,640 --> 00:11:24,600 progress towards a clear target. It needs specific and measurable 226 00:11:24,600 --> 00:11:27,080 steps. The main dopamine system within 227 00:11:27,080 --> 00:11:30,720 us as humans and all mammals is the reward system. 228 00:11:30,920 --> 00:11:35,360 We release dopamine when we achieve a target or a goal or an 229 00:11:35,360 --> 00:11:36,880 aim. This could be a challenge or a 230 00:11:36,880 --> 00:11:39,040 target you've set out for yourself, a goal that you want 231 00:11:39,040 --> 00:11:40,960 to achieve. It could be something work, it 232 00:11:40,960 --> 00:11:42,800 could be something with your fitness, it could be something 233 00:11:42,800 --> 00:11:47,000 in the house, or it could be something as simple as drinking 234 00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:48,920 when thirsty or eating when hungry. 235 00:11:49,080 --> 00:11:51,520 Our brain loves it. The more specific and important 236 00:11:51,520 --> 00:11:53,920 the target, the more the dopamine high. 237 00:11:54,160 --> 00:11:56,480 And this is evolutionary. It's what's kept us alive and 238 00:11:56,480 --> 00:11:59,160 survive as human beings over all the years. 239 00:11:59,320 --> 00:12:03,440 It's what motivates us to go out, seek shelter, seek food, 240 00:12:03,440 --> 00:12:07,800 seek warmth, have sex, multiply. This is literally baked into us 241 00:12:07,840 --> 00:12:09,800 as animals. For example, if you're doing a 242 00:12:09,800 --> 00:12:13,680 pub quiz and there's no actual points or winners, then what's 243 00:12:13,680 --> 00:12:16,440 the fucking point? The fun comes from achieving 244 00:12:16,440 --> 00:12:19,680 points, from winning the quiz. That's what it's all about. 245 00:12:19,880 --> 00:12:22,720 Now you may have also heard about the saying all wins feel 246 00:12:22,720 --> 00:12:26,920 the same and they do internally because it all comes down to 247 00:12:26,920 --> 00:12:28,960 context. James Smith, the online personal 248 00:12:28,960 --> 00:12:31,600 trainer, said on a podcast that he had the same feeling of 249 00:12:31,600 --> 00:12:35,080 elation when he hit 10,000 followers as he did a million 250 00:12:35,280 --> 00:12:38,880 because context matters. So Mo Farah win an Olympic gold 251 00:12:39,040 --> 00:12:42,800 might feel the same to my Nana struggling and getting to the 252 00:12:42,800 --> 00:12:45,080 top of the stairs. And this also hinges on 253 00:12:45,080 --> 00:12:47,880 deadlines and set dates in the diary in which he was supposed 254 00:12:47,880 --> 00:12:50,160 to achieve these things. It's called the gold gradient 255 00:12:50,160 --> 00:12:52,520 effect. When the deadline is months and 256 00:12:52,600 --> 00:12:55,560 years away, there's no motivation at the start to 257 00:12:55,560 --> 00:12:57,720 achieve it. It's only when the deadline gets 258 00:12:57,720 --> 00:13:00,600 close and you have to knuckle down and get it done that the 259 00:13:00,600 --> 00:13:03,480 motivation starts to increase. In fact, there was one study in 260 00:13:03,480 --> 00:13:07,080 a university where electorate sets one big deadline at the end 261 00:13:07,080 --> 00:13:10,680 of the year for 1/2 the group. For the other half, he split 262 00:13:10,680 --> 00:13:13,400 that into three smaller deadlines throughout the year. 263 00:13:13,400 --> 00:13:17,200 It was the second-half with the three deadlines spaced out that 264 00:13:17,200 --> 00:13:20,480 performed better because they had shorter deadlines leading up 265 00:13:20,480 --> 00:13:23,040 to the main one. With motivation created by 266 00:13:23,080 --> 00:13:24,440 urgency. There's no point in saying I 267 00:13:24,440 --> 00:13:28,280 want to lose 1 kilogram in 12 months, it's too long. 268 00:13:28,640 --> 00:13:30,960 Give yourself an appropriate deadline that sparks that 269 00:13:30,960 --> 00:13:33,800 motivation and you can use it by breaking bigger goals down as 270 00:13:33,800 --> 00:13:36,000 well, because we need to see that progression, those small 271 00:13:36,000 --> 00:13:38,560 wins along the way to keep the motivational fires burning. 272 00:13:39,080 --> 00:13:43,040 I did it in my world record run where I tackled a 72 mile GPS 273 00:13:43,040 --> 00:13:46,160 drawing of a cock and balls. 72 miles sounds impossible, it 274 00:13:46,160 --> 00:13:50,640 sounds insane, but I broke it down every 45 minutes. 275 00:13:50,640 --> 00:13:54,640 I had an energy gel and every 45 minutes that energy gel became a 276 00:13:54,640 --> 00:13:57,720 little pit stop in my brain, a little checkpoint, a little 277 00:13:57,880 --> 00:14:01,640 sugary treat, but also I was knocking a little milestone down 278 00:14:01,680 --> 00:14:04,120 each time working towards that big goal. 279 00:14:04,680 --> 00:14:08,800 If I had just the 72 mile goal to get, I don't know whether I 280 00:14:08,800 --> 00:14:11,840 could have got it. So set yourself SMART targets. 281 00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:17,360 These are specific, measurable, achievable, relatable to you and 282 00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:20,360 what you're doing and what you want to do, and with a specific 283 00:14:20,360 --> 00:14:23,360 time frame and a deadline and a date in the diary in which to 284 00:14:23,360 --> 00:14:25,640 achieve it. Dopamine grabs onto that like a 285 00:14:25,640 --> 00:14:28,160 junkie with a crack rock. And why is this important for 286 00:14:28,160 --> 00:14:30,960 motivation and achieving goals? Because we're learning how to 287 00:14:30,960 --> 00:14:34,600 design our goals specifically to induce that motivation, that 288 00:14:34,680 --> 00:14:37,800 dopamine release. By doing that effectively, we're 289 00:14:37,800 --> 00:14:41,200 going to give ourselves the drive in which to thrive and 290 00:14:41,200 --> 00:14:43,040 achieve. And these are the principles and 291 00:14:43,040 --> 00:14:45,800 the practices that we put into Rockman, my online challenge 292 00:14:45,800 --> 00:14:48,400 platform as well. We set monthly four week 293 00:14:48,400 --> 00:14:52,280 challenges that people can take part in anytime, anywhere, 294 00:14:52,440 --> 00:14:55,400 without fixed schedules, without fixed locations, and without the 295 00:14:55,400 --> 00:14:58,400 waiting around for a far off race day event to come round. 296 00:14:58,400 --> 00:15:01,320 You can get stuck in right now, wherever you are and challenge 297 00:15:01,320 --> 00:15:03,440 yourself. Give yourself that target, give 298 00:15:03,440 --> 00:15:06,160 yourself that aim and then and satisfaction of actually 299 00:15:06,160 --> 00:15:07,800 achieving that aim. And if you want to know more 300 00:15:07,800 --> 00:15:09,960 about Rockman, there's also a link in the description below. 301 00:15:10,120 --> 00:15:12,680 However, it's not all about rewards. 302 00:15:12,800 --> 00:15:15,640 There is a secondary system within us that releases 303 00:15:15,640 --> 00:15:19,440 dopamine, and this one is probably more important when it 304 00:15:19,440 --> 00:15:23,880 talks about driving motivation. Which leads us on to #4 don't 305 00:15:23,880 --> 00:15:27,400 reward before or after effort. Reward the effort itself. 306 00:15:27,680 --> 00:15:30,040 Now you may think the rewards are key for boosting motivation, 307 00:15:30,040 --> 00:15:33,680 but in reality it kills intrinsic Dr. The brain learns 308 00:15:33,680 --> 00:15:36,800 to love the treat and not the work, and here's what you should 309 00:15:36,800 --> 00:15:38,920 do instead. This is the lesser known 310 00:15:38,920 --> 00:15:40,920 incentive reward system within us. 311 00:15:40,920 --> 00:15:43,920 Basically, dopamine is released when we're working towards a 312 00:15:43,920 --> 00:15:47,440 goal that we find deep intrinsic value from and enjoyment 313 00:15:47,440 --> 00:15:50,760 something we want to do. We get real value from it 314 00:15:50,880 --> 00:15:54,680 internally about us and who we are and our identity. 315 00:15:54,880 --> 00:15:57,720 You don't actually have to achieve the goal, just working 316 00:15:57,720 --> 00:16:00,160 towards that goal releases the dopamine. 317 00:16:00,240 --> 00:16:02,520 And this dopamine actually warps time as well. 318 00:16:02,680 --> 00:16:04,800 You may think that time feels the same no matter how you look 319 00:16:04,800 --> 00:16:07,680 at it, but dopamine actually changes time perception too. 320 00:16:07,840 --> 00:16:12,720 Chasing rewards stretches time out and enjoying effort actually 321 00:16:12,720 --> 00:16:15,560 compresses it. Hence the saying, time flies 322 00:16:15,560 --> 00:16:18,640 when you're having fun, so why shouldn't you reward before or 323 00:16:18,640 --> 00:16:21,200 after and why should you reward the actual effort itself? 324 00:16:21,680 --> 00:16:24,960 It's because your brain gets used to chasing the reward and 325 00:16:24,960 --> 00:16:28,240 not doing the work itself. The whole reason your dopamine 326 00:16:28,240 --> 00:16:32,040 is spiking is because of the rewards, and the rewards won't 327 00:16:32,040 --> 00:16:34,360 always be there when they're removed. 328 00:16:34,680 --> 00:16:37,520 Your motivation to do that task will diminish. 329 00:16:37,520 --> 00:16:40,120 It will crash. You need to find the value and 330 00:16:40,120 --> 00:16:44,200 you need to find the purpose within that activity to spike 331 00:16:44,320 --> 00:16:47,560 that incentive reward system. So you're releasing dopamine 332 00:16:47,720 --> 00:16:50,000 just through the love of doing the activity. 333 00:16:50,120 --> 00:16:52,720 There was one study with children who enjoy drawing, and 334 00:16:52,720 --> 00:16:56,440 what they did is they started rewarding that drawing and after 335 00:16:56,440 --> 00:16:59,600 a while the children didn't care too much for the drawing itself. 336 00:16:59,720 --> 00:17:02,160 They began only chasing the rewards. 337 00:17:02,320 --> 00:17:05,400 And you get it in work. Say you love photography and you 338 00:17:05,400 --> 00:17:09,359 love taking photos, but then it progresses into a career. 339 00:17:09,640 --> 00:17:13,720 Now all of a sudden you're doing it for the money and the reward 340 00:17:13,760 --> 00:17:17,119 and your passion for that project actually disappears. 341 00:17:17,200 --> 00:17:19,400 Think of it like when every time you see your mates, you're 342 00:17:19,400 --> 00:17:21,359 always having a pint. Well, you're not going to have 343 00:17:21,359 --> 00:17:23,560 any motivation to see your friends when the pints aren't 344 00:17:23,560 --> 00:17:25,400 there. Whenever I see my mates, we're 345 00:17:25,400 --> 00:17:27,680 always looking to have a pint now because that is what we've 346 00:17:27,680 --> 00:17:29,920 always done. There's no internal purpose or 347 00:17:29,920 --> 00:17:31,920 meaning behind just seeing my friends anymore. 348 00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:35,120 It's always accompanied with the rewards of the pints. 349 00:17:35,680 --> 00:17:37,640 David Goggins has a good quote about music. 350 00:17:38,000 --> 00:17:41,680 He says he never trains with music because one day that music 351 00:17:41,680 --> 00:17:43,640 ain't going to be there. And it's true. 352 00:17:43,720 --> 00:17:46,240 So you get to the start line of a marathon and you've been 353 00:17:46,240 --> 00:17:47,760 training with music the whole way. 354 00:17:48,120 --> 00:17:50,920 And then you look at your phone and the batteries have run out 355 00:17:50,920 --> 00:17:53,320 on your Earpods. It could send you into a panic 356 00:17:53,520 --> 00:17:56,160 because all of a sudden that reward isn't there. 357 00:17:56,160 --> 00:17:58,040 That thing to help you get through isn't there. 358 00:17:58,360 --> 00:18:01,600 And there was no love crafted for the activity itself. 359 00:18:02,520 --> 00:18:04,960 So with the incentive reward system, again, it's not about 360 00:18:04,960 --> 00:18:07,880 the rewards, it's about finding that intrinsic value within the 361 00:18:07,880 --> 00:18:10,720 activity. And if you can find that, then 362 00:18:10,720 --> 00:18:11,920 that's going to see you out longer. 363 00:18:11,920 --> 00:18:14,480 And in terms of motivation and achievement, again, it's going 364 00:18:14,480 --> 00:18:17,040 to give you that longevity and that motivation and drive to 365 00:18:17,040 --> 00:18:19,640 keep working towards your goals. So that's it. 366 00:18:19,880 --> 00:18:23,200 Protect your baseline, love the effort, set clear goals and 367 00:18:23,200 --> 00:18:26,520 layer activities and use dopamine to make time work for 368 00:18:26,520 --> 00:18:28,000 you. And if you want to dive deeper, 369 00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:31,600 grab my free download of 31 mindset strategies in the link 370 00:18:31,600 --> 00:18:33,080 below. And if you you're ready to put 371 00:18:33,080 --> 00:18:35,600 all this into practice, you can check out Rockman, my online 372 00:18:35,600 --> 00:18:38,440 running and functional fitness challenge platform built around 373 00:18:38,440 --> 00:18:41,960 these exact principles to keep you pushing forward anytime, 374 00:18:42,040 --> 00:18:43,440 anywhere. Thanks for watching.