We all have things we want to accomplish in life, but having goals or knowing we should be doing something is often not nearly enough to get us to actually sustain our efforts in getting where we want to go.
Today on Being Well, Dr. Rick and Forrest Hanson explore how to optimize our motivation. They discuss the brain's dopamine system, and distinguish motivation from discipline and liking from wanting. They then explore how we can align the brain's underlying biological circuitry with our desires, so we can stay relaxed and engaged while achieving our goals.
Watch the Episode: Prefer watching video? You can watch this episode on YouTube.
Key Topics:
0:00: Introduction
2:05: Motivation vs. Discipline
5:30: Why don't we just want the things we know are good for us?
11:00: Creating unity between our biology and cognitive processing
15:50: Dopamine: An Overview
21:30: Distinguishing liking from wanting
25:35: Natural variations in dopamine metabolism
28:55: How people with lower levels of dopamine can stay motivated
33:35: Updating the reward value of your experiences
37:20: Being, doing, and having
43:05: What has helped Rick stay diligent and let go of resistance
46:40: Practical how-tos for interacting with the dopaminergic system
50:35: Letting fish be fish
52:30: Recap
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