Fantastic read. Love your point 2, and how dopamine featured in it.
After all, a dopamine spike is the key to creating (and running) a habitual process. Once you can get that spike programmed upstream, motivation becomes inbuilt.
That's the secret to all those high achievers who seem to have oodles of motivation. They weren't born with it. They cultivated it through repetition.
And there is also a way to use the same system that got the habit in there to get it out. Every dopamine spike of urge or craving basically creates a 60 second plasticity window within your brain. If you follow the urge, you strengthen the wiring and the urge hits harder next time. But if you take a different path, you not only weaken the existing wiring (with a dip) but you create a new competing wiring.
Dopamine is lever you can use to program your own brain.
My PhD was in engineering, but for the last few years my research and writing have focused on neuroscience - particularly dopamine, habit formation, motivation, and plasticity.
My work sits somewhere between research translation and what I think of as narrative neuroscience, with identity, agency, and long-term meaning in mind.
(It's funny… after programming in everything from Assembly to Matlab, I now spend a lot of time “programming” with a "language" called dopamine.)
Wow, this is an interesting journey, going from engineering to neuroscience. And "programming with dopamine" sounds awesome! What research do you do with dopamine, what do you work on exactly?
All of my published papers are in my PhD field (Geotechnical Engineering). My Neuroscience research is all personally driven (and funded, ha). I do have the bare bones of a few dopamine-related papers that I hope to one day publish. But right now I'm enjoying sharing what I've learned (and continue to learn) with others in the hopes that it helps them as it has helped me.
Exactly! Right now, I started restructuring my life based on Atomic Habits, reviewing my habits and implementing new ones. This is what you can get from reading this book, but I wanted this knowledge to reach those who can't read it as well.
A wonderful read I must say
Thank you, my best one yet!
Fantastic read. Love your point 2, and how dopamine featured in it.
After all, a dopamine spike is the key to creating (and running) a habitual process. Once you can get that spike programmed upstream, motivation becomes inbuilt.
That's the secret to all those high achievers who seem to have oodles of motivation. They weren't born with it. They cultivated it through repetition.
And there is also a way to use the same system that got the habit in there to get it out. Every dopamine spike of urge or craving basically creates a 60 second plasticity window within your brain. If you follow the urge, you strengthen the wiring and the urge hits harder next time. But if you take a different path, you not only weaken the existing wiring (with a dip) but you create a new competing wiring.
Dopamine is lever you can use to program your own brain.
More here if curious: https://thisisyourbrainon.substack.com/p/from-addiction-to-agency
Awesome extension, thanks for sharing this! Do you work/have experience in this area?
My PhD was in engineering, but for the last few years my research and writing have focused on neuroscience - particularly dopamine, habit formation, motivation, and plasticity.
My work sits somewhere between research translation and what I think of as narrative neuroscience, with identity, agency, and long-term meaning in mind.
(It's funny… after programming in everything from Assembly to Matlab, I now spend a lot of time “programming” with a "language" called dopamine.)
Wow, this is an interesting journey, going from engineering to neuroscience. And "programming with dopamine" sounds awesome! What research do you do with dopamine, what do you work on exactly?
Thank you!
All of my published papers are in my PhD field (Geotechnical Engineering). My Neuroscience research is all personally driven (and funded, ha). I do have the bare bones of a few dopamine-related papers that I hope to one day publish. But right now I'm enjoying sharing what I've learned (and continue to learn) with others in the hopes that it helps them as it has helped me.
Wish you success with your research. Dopamine is a really important topic we have to know more about. I think it can cause great breakthroughs.
I agree, reading a book with no concrete action after means you leanrt nothing. 😉
Exactly! Right now, I started restructuring my life based on Atomic Habits, reviewing my habits and implementing new ones. This is what you can get from reading this book, but I wanted this knowledge to reach those who can't read it as well.
This book changed my mindset!
Mine too! Atomic Habits is truly one of the best books I've ever read.
Did you find the post useful?
Yes, I did. I appreciate how you highlighted the key points of the book. I talk about the book as well in my post here. https://imjustgrace.substack.com/p/my-new-habit-tracker
Just checked it out, great post!
Thanks I appreciate that!
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