Note: This is an audio version of the latest IoNTELLIGENCE Professional Development Brief. While podcasts are usually only available to paid Community Members, this one is available to everyone today.
IoNTELLIGENCE draws on science and strategy to help busy people achieve professional success, personal transformation, and lasting happiness in ten minutes a week.
Photo by Piseth Mao
Can I let you in on a secret? I like planning projects more than working on them.
Sure, I get a thrill when I finish one. But that delight is nothing compared to the regular dopamine squirts I receive from thinking about how to tackle it, building To-Do lists, and basking in the glorious state of getting ready to work. It’s not that I get more rewards from designing than from doing; rather, I get some while putting in nowhere near the effort required to complete the task.
Dreaming is a sneaky form of cheap satisfaction.
This is not the dopamine bogeyman that I usually rail against. Longtime readers know I call the current 21st-century economy “Dopamine Capitalism” because the biggest industries hijack our limbic system to get clicks, downloads, and dollars from us. However, this isn’t another screed against TikTok, Taco Bell and Temu.
While those companies are definitely not your friends, here’s a different cold truth: we’re often our worst enemies. Those products and services are engaging because they tap into our natural preference for immediate, effortless rewards. But we often deceive ourselves in the same neurological manner without their prompting.
Like in cliched horror flicks, the call is coming from inside the house.
Here’s how to overcome our mind’s lazy shortcuts.
🚨 If You Only Do One Thing From This List
Don’t fall for dopamine’s tricks. Seek harder but ultimately more meaningful transformations.
Note: I will launch a dopamine-themed challenge next month for phone-free February. Stay tuned!
🏆 The 60-Second Shift
The IoNTELLIGENCE Top 5®️ Dopamine Traps: Planning vs Doing. Starting vs Finishing. Ideas vs Execution. Learning vs Applying. New vs Great.
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