Snacking, or just giving into impulses to eat anytime you have a craving.

And with todayвЂ™s processed food, itвЂ™s magnified to levels our ancestors never knew)

Sugar (instant pleasure, without the work.

Caffeine (instant feeling of motivation, energy, and focus to move towards our goals, the first time).

So, if you think youвЂ™re dopamine triggers are broken, and you want to get back to experiencing the natural highs that will keep you on a path to meeting your goals, itвЂ™s time for a dopamine reset!ДЇirst, you have to start by eliminating the artificial shortcuts that have been giving you short lived, diminishing levels of dopamine. So, science has actually proven: The joy is truly in the journey! The tougher the work, the greater the reward. When we donвЂ™t have to work towards anything to get the dopamine hit (sugar and caffeine), we miss out on all the joy that comes from the chemicals released from working towards the goal. Embrace the struggle of hard work for the ultimate dopamine high. If dopamine is responsible for motivation, and you have been getting dopamine from things like caffeine and sugar rather than working on and accomplishing tasks, you will lose motivation before 10 am. And once you arenвЂ™t getting dopamine hits by natural means, you arenвЂ™t getting them at all. But, than it stops working.Д¬affeine and sugar can give you a quick surge of dopamine at the expense of creating your own natural pathways to get a dopamine hit. It messes with our brain signals because it makes us think itвЂ™s possible to get the reward without the work. But when it wears off, weвЂ™re left with lower levels of dopamine, and we require more of the artificial things to return to the same level of dopamine. These substances and behaviors encourage addiction because getting the dopamine without work, feels good, the first time. Drugs, alcohol, distraction, media, caffeine, sugar, salt, constantly being around food, etc. The challenge we face today is we found other ways to get a hit of dopamine, without doing any work at all. Why Dopamine isnвЂ™t motivating you anymore Even the anticipation of something pleasurable, something new, something unexpected, or something enjoyable releases dopamine so that we stay on that path. The working towards a goal gives us longer joy and happiness. When we are working towards something pleasurable or life sustaining, we feel happy. Along the path to getting what we want, dopamine is being released, giving us the motivation to reach the goal.

Once the goal is achieved, we get a big hit of dopamine, and then it quickly goes away. Dopamine levels build in the process of working TOWARDS a goal. Д«ecause dopamine makes us feel good, we continue on the path to reach our goals. ItвЂ™s what DRIVES us to accomplish the goal.Дopamine performs its tasks beforeВ we obtain rewards, meaning that its real job is to encourage us to act to achieve something good or toВ avoid something bad. But dopamine isnвЂ™t just released when we arrive at these goals. Dopamine drives us to eat, find a companion, have sex, make money, etc. We use dopamine to behave in a way that ensureвЂ™s our survival. I donвЂ™t eat a ton of sugar, but I can tell when I start to eat treats, ItвЂ™s usually followed by a dip in motivation. I definitely was drinking too much Diet Coke. I wondered if my diet could be responsible. I was losing stamina for my goals earlier and earlier in the day. I was started to get worried because the window of motivation kept getting shorter! It was around 3pm this would happen.

My brain wants me to snack on cereal and curl up on the couch to binge watch Veronica Mars (Gotta re-watch before the new season hits!) ItвЂ™s not that IвЂ™m tired, I just donвЂ™t feel like doing anything productive anymore. I have an idea of what I want to accomplish and I feel amazing.Д«ut by 10 am, itвЂ™s GONE! The motivation to start working on all the projects I meticulously outlined at 9 am is literally gone. I have incredible motivation in the morning. I am ready to get stuff done and to stick to my health goals. In the morning, I always start off with a strong determination to conquer my day. Recently, IвЂ™ve been having a tough time staying motivated. Posted on JDo you lose motivation to meet your goals before 10am each day? Your lack of dopamine could be to blame. Home > Research and News > Reset Dopamine to Get your Motivation Back Reset Dopamine to Get your Motivation Back

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