Motivation and Fear Are in the Same Chemical Pathway

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Andrew Curnow: Fear and motivation are in the same chemical pathway. The only way to talk about motivation is to talk about the molecule dopo. If people are feeling that they're not motivated, or as motivated they would like to be, there's a key step which is to start focusing on the craving aspect of fear. And if you can make enough dopamine, mean you can motivate, you can actually crave moving through challenge. So we coundtalk about how to do that, but just to underscore how powerful this relationship is between motivation and opoming,. There was an experiment that was done in rats, but it's also essentially been done in humans through naturally occurring things.

Reprogram Your Brain to Destroy Laziness and Improve Focus | This episode is brought to you by BLUblox.

At one point or another, we’ve all felt stuck in a rut with feelings of laziness and fear. During these times it can be really hard to take a step back and wonder what’s happening in the body, as opposed to just the mind, but it’s the link between the two that can push us through it.

Neurotransmitters have some incredible power over how we function. Dopamine is responsible for craving, motivation, and pursuit. Adrenaline relates to agitation and endurance. Serotonin helps us be grateful and feel good about what we have. And acetylcholine can help us focus. This is just a snapshot of the chemical symphony happening in our bodies all the time, and we can actually leverage these inner reactions to better understand the way we react to the world around us and make positive changes.

Today on The Dhru Purohit Podcast, Dhru talks to Dr. Andrew Huberman about opening the window into our neurochemistry, training the nervous system, and confronting our inner real estate.

Dr. Andrew Huberman is a neuroscientist and tenured Professor in the Department of Neurobiology at the Stanford University School of Medicine. He has made numerous important contributions to the fields of brain development, brain function, and neural plasticity, which is the ability of our nervous system to rewire and learn new behaviors, skills, and cognitive functioning.

Dr. Huberman is a McKnight Foundation and Pew Foundation Fellow and was awarded the Cogan Award in 2017, which is given to the scientist making the largest discoveries in the study of vision. His lab’s most recent work focuses on the influence of vision and respiration on human performance and brain states such as fear and courage. Work from the Huberman Laboratory at Stanford University School of Medicine has been published in top journals including Nature, Science, and Cell and has been featured in TIME, BBC, Scientific American, Discover, and other top media outlets.

In this episode, we dive into:

-The connection between fear, laziness, and motivation (4:56)

-The difference between dopamine, adrenaline, and serotonin (17:50)

-How to increase dopamine (19:12)

-How to get your mind to stop racing (31:14)

-An exercise to try if you are having a hard time falling asleep (35:47)

-The benefits of hypnosis (38:57)

-What to do if you are having trouble focusing (52:47)

-Why structure is one of the best ways to create freedom (1:01:32)

-How our phones are eroding our creativity, relationships, and more (1:05:52)

-The importance of having times of no focus each day (1:16:39)

For more on Dr. Andrew Huberman, you can follow him on Instagram @hubermanlab, and through his website http://www.hubermanlab.com/. Check out his podcast Huberman Lab at https://hubermanlab.com/category/podcast-episodes/.

Also mentioned in this episode:

-Episode #134: The Latest Science on Enhancing Focus and Developing a Growth Mindset with Dr. Andrew Huberman - https://drhyman.com/blog/2020/07/09/bb-ep13

-Dr. David Spiegel and Hypnosis - https://stanfordhealthcare.org/doctors/s/david-spiegel.html

-Reveri Hypnosis Ap - https://www.reveri.com/

-Cal Newport - https://www.calnewport.com/

-A World Without Email by Cal Newport - https://www.calnewport.com/books/a-world-without-email/

-Oliver Sacks Documentary - https://www.oliversacksdoc.com/watch-now

-Ido Portal - Movement Culture - https://www.instagram.com/portal.ido/

-The Ready State - https://thereadystate.com/

-Madefor Program - https://getmadefor.com

-Guardians of Being by Ekhart Tolle and Patrick McDonnell - https://amzn.to/3vQTY7E

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