MOTIVATION FOR THE LONG HAUL

Neuroscience Psychology Entrepreneurship

I really like entrepreneurial mindset – a mindset that is full of determination, focus and vision! I attend many networking events learning what and why entrepreneurs create what they create, the challenges they experience and what keeps them going when things get a little tough. After all, being an entrepreneur means going despite setbacks because you truly believe in your idea and what it can offer to the world- it is a powerful and rewarding experience that brings long working hours, stress and at times fear of failure. Yet, the fulfillment of creating and building your vision keeps your going.

To help entrepreneurs and leaders to stay more motivated, I wrote this short article that will provide a few practical tips by having a better understanding of dopamine- our chemical messenger. Dopamine is powerful because it can shift our level of energy, our mindset in our belief whether we can or can’t accomplish something. It effects our willingness to pursue things and it helps to sustain effort over a long period of time.

When we feel lethargic and in low motivational drive- we are experiencing low dopamine state. When we have too much dopamine we can experience a risk of addiction, restlessness, paranoia, insomnia etc. So, what can we do to keep it at a healthy level?

First, it is important to understand that we have a baseline of dopamine. So, every time we reach a goal or do something enjoyable our dopamine level goes up, followed by a drop below baseline and then it returns to its normal state. Which means we can experience depression after a big win. In the startup world it is very common to see highs and lows that can cause a lot of emotional turbulence- so it’s important to know how to regulate dopamine in order to stay more balanced and pursue goals over a long period of time.

Here are a few practical tips that can help you to sustain that motivation:

Enjoy the process of hard work instead of focusing on the goal

Skip on the reward before or after hard activities and let the activity itself produce dopamine. It can be tough at first to convince yourself that you are enjoying writing a paper or training for a marathon, but it serves its purpose. If you do an activity because of the reward only, such as money or recognition, it will reduce the pleasure achieved from the activity itself and you are less likely to do it again. So, remember- it’s about the journey, not the destination.

Think back on your positive experiences

Extend the arc of positive experience simply by thinking back, it will have a positive subjective effect of dopamine. For example- I really enjoyed collaborating with this team and building partnerships. It felt great presenting on the topic I was passionate about and seeing so many people engaged.

Skip on layering dopamine raising activities

Layering dopamine raising activities such as substance and activity will diminish your motivation to pursue and enjoy the activity in the long run. So, skip at times your substance of choice- it can be music, energy drink, coffee, social media etc. For example, to reset dopamine baseline- on weekends go for a walk or gym leaving the phone behind (no music, no podcast). When you go socializing skip on a drink a few times.

Cold Exposure

Take a cold shower once or twice a week. It won’t be pleasurable at first, but you will feel energized and there will be no dopamine crash afterwards. It also helps to build a resilient mind and immune system.

Break goals into small steps

If you set too big of a goal, you might get discouraged when you don’t see any progress for a long time. But each time you achieve a goal or do something out of your comfort zone it will give you dopamine push and encourage you to keep going!

Get some sleep and turn off those light

Viewing bright light between 10pm and 4 am suppresses circulation of the reward system. It reduces your capacity to release dopamine. So put that phone away and read a book, listen to podcast or just fall asleep.

Celebrate your wins but not all

Don’t celebrate all wins – that will help to keep the dopamine in check and keep you on a path of pursuing things for a long time. The key is not to expect or chase high levels of it. So next time you get an A, publish a paper or win a tournament – take it easy and celebrate the next win instead.

Get your body moving

Exercise – the more you enjoy doing it the more dopamine you will get. Release stress and get those endorphins! You can dance, swim, walk, bike- whatever your heart desires!

If you have any questions, please reach out at info@themindpattern.com