I’d love to tell you this moment of clarity came during some transformative ayahuasca retreat in Costa Rica or after a soul-searching hike through Sedona. But no. It hit me on a random Tuesday morning, still in bed, phone-in-hand, thumb stuck on autopilot as my brain craved its next hit of dopamine.
I had just finished watching a video about a guy who built a log cabin in the middle of nowhere using nothing but a hatchet and vibes. I have no idea how I got there. One minute I was checking my calendar, the next I was deep in a YouTube rabbit hole, watching someone make pancakes over a wood stove in the Canadian wilderness.
And somehow, I felt accomplished, as if I had done something. Like I had earned a reward.
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Except I had not even gotten out of bed yet.
That was the moment it clicked. My brain had started chasing dopamine in all the wrong places. Likes, notifications, clever content. Tiny little hits that made me feel productive without actually producing anything.
I was not making progress. I was just snacking on distractions and calling it a meal.
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Dopamine Is Not the Problem
Dopamine gets a bad rap, but it is not the enemy. It is the brain’s way of saying, “Hey, that felt good. Let’s do more of that.”
The issue is not dopamine. It is where we are getting it.
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And I had become a master dopamine sommelier. Notifications? Reward. Quick replies? Reward. A clever post that made me feel seen by strangers on the internet? Huge reward.
I had trained my brain to feel accomplished by things that looked like progress but were just noise. Scrolls that felt like research. Slack messages that felt like momentum. Clicks that felt like creativity.
Meanwhile, the harder stuff? The deep work. The actual creation. The long-game thinking. That started to feel heavy. Delayed. Avoidable.
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And I started to notice the effects. My attention got thinner. My satisfaction shallower. My motivation more reactive than intentional. I was moving, sure, but it wasn’t momentum. It was motion sickness.
I was full, but not fulfilled. Wired, but not winning.
And if any of that hits home for you, just know this: nothing is wrong with you. You are simply overfed on digital dopamine and undernourished on real wins.
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This Is My Starting Point
I am calling this my Dopamine Diet. Not because I am cutting dopamine out, but because I am learning how to feed my brain differently. I am not trying to be a minimalist monk. I still enjoy a good podcast and a little content dive now and then. But I am waking up to the fact that if I want to feel fulfilled again, not just productive but proud, I need to choose what I reward.
This article is not the finish line. It is the starting line.
And if you are feeling stuck, distracted, or like you are running hard but not getting where you want to go, I am inviting you to start with me.
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Here are some steps I am working on. Maybe you want to try them too.
Let’s Rebuild Our Mornings
Mornings set the tone. And for too long, I have been setting mine to the tune of dings, pings, and whatever viral clip the algorithm thinks I need before 8 am.
I used to open my eyes and reach for my phone like it was a life raft. Calendar. Email. Notifications. An accidental five-minute detour into the group chat. And just like that, the day belonged to everyone else before it ever belonged to me.
Now I am flipping the script.
Before I let the world in, I try to create something. Anything. A clear priority scribbled on a Post-it. A few lines in my journal. A quiet review of the one thing I want to move forward today. Sometimes I just sit and think—no screens, no soundtrack—and let my brain wake up like a person, not a processor.
Other times, I start with a short meditation, just 5 minutes of stillness to let the mental clutter settle before the day starts shouting. And yes, I make the bed. It takes 30 seconds, but there’s something about starting the day by finishing something that tells your brain: Today, we do things. Nothing fancy. Just enough to remind myself I am in charge of the pace.
A Call To Action
It does not have to be perfect. But it has to be mine.
Because when I own my morning, I am not just buying time; I am buying clarity. And I can tell the difference in my decisions, my focus, and how I show up for the rest of the day.
If you want to reclaim your mornings too, start small. Maybe just ask yourself, “What is one thing I can create or complete before I check in with the world?”
Then go do that. Even if it is messy. Even if it is tiny. Because those little choices stack up. And eventually, they build a morning that actually works for you, not against you.
Let’s Start Giving Ourselves Credit
If your brain is like mine, it loves checking boxes. But it rarely stops to celebrate the ones it already checked. So I’m flipping the script.
Instead of obsessing over what’s left on the to-do list, I’m building a “done” list. It is a simple shift, but it makes a big difference.
Sent a clear, no-fluff email that moved a decision forward? Write it down.
Choose a walk, and some fresh air instead of doomscrolling? Count it.
Finished a task you had been procrastinating for days? That goes on the list.
Held back from reacting and chose to respond thoughtfully? That is a win, too.
These aren’t flashy. They will not make headlines. But they are reps, the ones that build your focus muscle and reset your reward system to favor meaningful progress.
If journaling is your thing, make a habit of jotting down three real wins at the end of each day. Not goals. Not dreams. Just things you did today that moved you forward.
You could even make it visual. Grab a sticky note. Put it on your wall. One win per note. Watch the wall grow and remind you that progress is happening, even if it’s not always loud.
Celebrate it. Don’t wait for someone else to clap. Clap for yourself. That is how you train your brain to chase the right kind of dopamine.
Let your brain reward the reps, not just the highlight reel.
Let’s Make Distraction Less Convenient
Distraction loves convenience. And if I’m being honest, I’ve basically been rolling out the red carpet for it.
Phone in hand. Slack open. Tabs multiplying like rabbits. I was giving my brain unlimited options for avoidance and calling it “staying connected.”
So now, I’m making distraction work a little harder.
The phone goes across the room. The tabs get closed, not just minimized. I avoid apps that don’t deserve my attention today. None of this is heroic. It is just me creating fewer on-ramps to mindless scrolling and more room for real focus.
This is not about becoming a productivity machine. It is about making space for the stuff that moves the needle.
If distraction is running the show more than you’d like, start with one small speed bump. Silence a few notifications. Close a window. Step away from your inbox for 30 minutes. That little moment of friction might be all it takes to shift gears.
And once you start shifting, you will remember what clarity feels like. It feels like possibility.
Let’s Normalize the Middle
Somewhere along the way, it started to feel like if we weren’t crushing it every day, we were failing. Like if we didn’t wake up at 5 am., cold plunge, journal, close a deal, and post a thought leadership thread by 8 am., we were already behind.
But here is the truth, most of us are in the messy middle. We are juggling ambition with reality, goals with grocery lists. And that’s not weakness. That’s real life.
We need more stories from the middle. More people are saying, “I am working on it, too.” Less perfection. More process. Less pressure to be extraordinary. More intention to be just a little more ourselves.
Which brings me to this:
We Are Not Trying to Be Perfect
Look, I am not chasing perfect here. I am chasing progress that feels like mine.
And I want to be honest about something. This is not a motivational article from the top of the mountain. I am still very much at the beginning of this. Some days I will nail it. Other days, I know that I will catch myself sliding right back into the same habits I am trying to change.
But now I notice. And noticing is the real win. Because once you notice, you can choose something better.
Also, let’s be real. Perfect people do not exist. No matter how polished someone looks on social media, no one has it all together. So give yourself some grace. Grace to mess up. Grace to miss a day. Grace to fail and still press forward.
If you’re still nodding along, even a little, I want you to know you’re not alone in this. You are not behind. You are not failing. You are just operating in a world that hands out rewards for the easy stuff and makes the meaningful work feel harder to reach. That doesn’t mean you’re off track; it means you’re waking up to what matters.
The Dopamine Deal
Consider this your nudge to pause, begin your own dopamine diet, and make a better choice, one that actually feels like yours.
Rebuild your morning and your day. Give yourself credit. Create some distance from the distractions. Find momentum in effort, not just results.
I am going first. Not because I have it all figured out, but because I needed to say it out loud.
If this resonated, share it. Try it. Talk about it with someone. Save it for a day when you need a reset.
Let’s keep building a brain that is wired to win in a way that matters.
Because I think we both deserve that kind of win.
