Find Your Good Sources of Dopamine | nik.art

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The better I manage my neurotransmitters, the more smoothly my life goes.

Dopamine is the big one, and, in recent years, it has taken the spotlight for millions of other people, too. Compared to the other main three, serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphins, dopamine has vastly outperformed in search trends since early 2022. There are books and videos and courses about "dopamine detoxing," and much of what doesn’t explicitly mention the chemical is still aimed at regulating it, like reducing screen time, curing phone addiction, quitting social media, and more.

Why? Dopamine runs our brain’s reward and pleasure system and, as such, affects what we feel motivated and not motivated to do. Therefore, it has perhaps more power than any other to mess with our lives, and it does. If a bad habit hijacks your reward system, you can spend endless time in ultimately unfulfilling pleasure loops. Instead of spending our lives meaningfully in ways we won’t regret, we get sucked into meaningless slot machines chasing information, money, entertainment, and other cheap thrills.

In the last few months, I’ve pulled too many levers on too many of those slot machines. As part of trying to do better, I decided to list the sources of dopamine which I find benefit my life. There are 15 of them:

Reading —books, mostly.

Writing —also books, mostly. But really any kind of writing.

Meditation . In almost seven years of daily sitting in silence, I haven’t regretted a single session, and I feel better after each and every one.

Acts of love . These aren’t just about physical intimacy. Hugging my partner is great, but so is texting my dad, calling my grandma, buying a cookie for my fiancée, etc.

Acts of kindness . Extensions of acts of love, basically. That circle of people is broader, but it feels just as wonderful to send an old friend a picture out of the blue or hold the door for a stranger at the bakery.

Breathing exercises . My favorite to cure the hiccups and basically any kind of stressful situation is "square breathing." Breathe in while counting to four, hold for four seconds, then do another four-count as you breathe out. Repeat a few times until your mind and heart rate settle.

Movement . "Exercise" sounds like work. But moving is fun. I can get up from my couch, and I’ve moved. And it does make a difference. Helps with creative blocks, too.

Going outside . It’s an amazing shift: From staring at my screen and worrying about my problems in my tiny universe to getting out the door and walking around the block. There’s a whole, much larger world out there, and it’s so reassuring. The best kind of reality check.

Water/peppermint tea . Drinks laden with caffeine, sugar, alcohol, or all three offer the wrong kind of dopamine. Cool water or hot peppermint tea actually help me center.

Music . It shouldn’t always be on, but, chosen deliberately, a good song, mix, or playlist can work wonders.

Real learning , for example with a purposefully chosen online course. I’m working through all the ones about writing on Masterclass. It’s too rare a treat still, but it’s highly rewarding.

A high-quality story on film . I deliberately phrased it like this, because it’s not about watching TV or a movie. It’s about consciously spending 15, 30, 60 minutes immersing yourself in a story to then come out stronger—even if you had to pause halfway through, just as you would with a book.

High-quality video games . For me, most of those are also driven by their story. The puzzles and action are fun, but the narrative is what makes it worthwhile.

Working on a meaningful personal project . For me, that’s improving this blog, growing my personal brand as a writer, making small user experience updates in the background, and pulling my overall product lineup and portfolio together. Anything that’s not the core task of writing, basically.

Quality time with people . A bit of a catch-all category, but when in doubt, engage with humans. Talk. Sit. Listen. It always gives you perspective.

The first nine are the most dependable, I would say. The last six can also become distractions if done too obsessively, but for me, they all at least provide material for more writing.

The real trick, however, is that most of them don’t just release dopamine. Some of them throw in serotonin, others endorphins. Others still produce only oxytocin or serotonin. They’re dopamine enhancers but also balancers. Hormones in charge of bonding, trust, well-being, pride, pain and stress relief, and mood stabilization. Because, as often, the picture is bigger than what we can see, and the sum of all the colors is larger than the canvas altogether.

Going forward, I’ll do my best to draw on this list as a default. Whenever I do, my neurotransmitters stay in equilibrium, and so do I. What will your list look like? I have no idea. But I know you must find your good sources of dopamine—and be kind enough to...