Give the Future a Little Competition

Shoes still dry.

Dopamine gives us the hope that something in the future will be worlds better than what we experience in the present. This is a biological imperative to motivate us toward security, sustenance, and progress.

But for most of us in the 21st century, our lives are already sustained and secure, so this dopamine urge is spent on the pursuit of things that don't help us at all--sometimes, things that are bad for us.

In Taming the Molecule of More, I provide step-by-step guidance for the most common dopamine-driven challenges of the modern age: social media, obsession with the news, online pornography, shopping, gaming, serial dating, and more.

But here's something you can do to feel more confident, more satisfied, and happier no matter what your dopamine-driven problem:

Make your experience in the here and now intense.

That way it better competes with the dopamine urge

to race toward the next thing.

Whatever you are doing in the moment, engage all your senses. Stop and really dig into it.

Don't just look at something, break it down into its parts in your mind.

Don't just notice the odor in the bakery, savor it.

Don't just gobble down your food, taste it.

Don't just take note of the music, listen closely.

Or, if you're in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, don't just take a picture of the public spring. Take off your shoes and wade in to see how it feels. That's what my freshly-PhD'd daughter did in this photo!