Master Your Dopamine Quotes

“According to research, dopamine influences how people choose between immediate rewards versus things that might occur in the future (Schultz, 2004). In other words, it forces individuals to focus on the here and now rather than how their spur-of-the-moment decisions may influence them in the future. This can lead them toward making unhealthy choices.”
― Nick Trenton, Master Your Dopamine: How to Rewire Your Brain for Focus and Peak Performance

“Taking a solitary walk every day can be beneficial for your physical and mental health. Referred to as "savoring walks" by the Greater Good Science Center at Berkeley, this activity encourages people to take a break from their everyday life and focus on the little things that make up the world around them. During a savoring walk, consciously observe your environment as you go, taking note of sights, sounds, and smells unique to your location. At times, it might be difficult, but each step taken will help build within you a sense of greater appreciation for nature and all that is around you. Walk alone with intention and in gratitude; the world is beautiful and there are countless blessings to be thankful for.”
― Nick Trenton, Master Your Dopamine: How to Rewire Your Brain for Focus and Peak Performance

“You can use this written record as a reference when feeling low or in need of new inspiration. Take a few moments to recall the emotions experienced during these moments and be intentional about savoring the feeling of being appreciated.”
― Nick Trenton, Master Your Dopamine: How to Rewire Your Brain for Focus and Peak Performance

“According to Dr. Huberman, research demonstrates that receiving gratitude has an even greater effect than giving it.”
― Nick Trenton, Master Your Dopamine: How to Rewire Your Brain for Focus and Peak Performance

“Studies have found that gratitude can do wonders for mental health. It's been associated with increasing levels of dopamine, and recent research suggests it can also naturally boost serotonin—that "happiness chemical." In his book The Upward Spiral: Using Neuroscience to Reverse the Course of Depression, One Small Change at a Time, researcher Alex Korb writes that being grateful activates production in the anterior cingulate cortex. This can help people feel good and relaxed, as well as stabilize their mood so they’re better equipped to manage difficult emotions”
― Nick Trenton, Master Your Dopamine: How to Rewire Your Brain for Focus and Peak Performance

“Eric Garland, a professor at the University of Utah’s College of Social Work, created the program Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE), which has been helpful in aiding those battling opioid abuse, chronic pain, and emotional distress. MORE involves teaching participants to process and cope with challenging negative emotions. Garland presumes “life includes triumphs and tribulations; mindfulness allows individuals to accept both outcomes while remaining in tune with their metaphysical alignment.”
― Nick Trenton, Master Your Dopamine: How to Rewire Your Brain for Focus and Peak Performance

“Meditation is a great way to give your dopamine levels a healthy, natural boost.”
― Nick Trenton, Master Your Dopamine: How to Rewire Your Brain for Focus and Peak Performance

“While it's normal to combine activities to make mundane tasks more exciting, it is important to be mindful of combining too many pleasurable activities, such as texting, listening to music, and exercising. According to Lembke, the brain needs time when it is not being stimulated in order to appreciate the true enjoyment that results from any activity people undertake. Too much pleasure at one time can lead people to become numb or take greater risks than people would normally take, so enjoying pleasures in moderation is an important exercise for everyone.”
― Nick Trenton, Master Your Dopamine: How to Rewire Your Brain for Focus and Peak Performance

“Once you have achieved each small section, you should reward yourself with something meaningful to you, like a five-minute break or the last slice of pizza.”
― Nick Trenton, Master Your Dopamine: How to Rewire Your Brain for Focus and Peak Performance

“Attach Rewards to Your To-Do List Utilizing low-tech techniques is a great way to get started. For instance, assigning rewards to a to-do list can help make the necessary chores feel more enjoyable. With each task completed, you assign yourself points or another reward that incentivizes getting your list done quickly and efficiently. It’s a great way to not only motivate yourself but also involve the kids in the process, as it provides positive reinforcement. Get creative with novel mini games and see just how much fun tackling everyday tasks can be!”
― Nick Trenton, Master Your Dopamine: How to Rewire Your Brain for Focus and Peak Performance

“Learning immediately after engaging in new experiences capitalizes on our brain's inherent plasticity—its capacity for adaptation and modification. This neurobiological phenomenon can be heuristic for learning, enabling people to learn more quickly. When it comes to setting aside time for studying, consider the opportunities presented by the unfamiliar—for example, scheduling a coffee chat with someone outside of your circle or undertaking a weekend trip to a different city.”
― Nick Trenton, Master Your Dopamine: How to Rewire Your Brain for Focus and Peak Performance

“Set aside a certain number of days, during which you shall be content with the scantiest and cheapest fare, with course and rough dress, saying to yourself the while: ‘Is this the condition that I feared?’” -Seneca”
― Nick Trenton, Master Your Dopamine: How to Rewire Your Brain for Focus and Peak Performance

“Therefore, self-control is an important skill to master if we want to stay productive. One effective way of strengthening our self-control is to practice voluntary discomfort. This means deliberately subjecting ourselves to uncomfortable situations and avoiding the urge to give in easily to the comfort we could derive from easier solutions.”
― Nick Trenton, Master Your Dopamine: How to Rewire Your Brain for Focus and Peak Performance

“Refraining from quick hits and instead focusing on activities such as physical exercise, learning, working on long-term goals, and meditation can have a direct impact on our motivation levels and our ability to focus.”
― Nick Trenton, Master Your Dopamine: How to Rewire Your Brain for Focus and Peak Performance

“The key difference being that we must delay gratification in order to experience success; by doing this, the reward centers are engaged, contributing to better focus and resourcefulness long term.”
― Nick Trenton, Master Your Dopamine: How to Rewire Your Brain for Focus and Peak Performance

“spotlighting. It involves focusing one’s visual attention on one specific point in the distance, which helps to reduce distractions.”
― Nick Trenton, Master Your Dopamine: How to Rewire Your Brain for Focus and Peak Performance

“Random Intermittent Reward Timing (RIRT) If someone wants to stay motivated and have success in whatever pursuits they have, random intermittent reward timing (RIRT) could be their ticket.”
― Nick Trenton, Master Your Dopamine: How to Rewire Your Brain for Focus and Peak Performance

“Caffeine can be a great way to boost your energy levels and productivity throughout the day.”
― Nick Trenton, Master Your Dopamine: How to Rewire Your Brain for Focus and Peak Performance

“To maximize the benefits of this routine and add an extra layer of wellness, experts suggest taking a short cold shower—anywhere from one to three minutes in length—as cold as a person can reasonably tolerate. Research has shown that this simple addition can drastically raise people’s baseline dopamine level for multiple hours afterward. Appropriate sleep helps regulate the production and release of dopamine,”
― Nick Trenton, Master Your Dopamine: How to Rewire Your Brain for Focus and Peak Performance

“Taking the time each morning to view early morning sunlight for a period of ten to thirty minutes can have powerful effects on the regulation of dopamine in the body (Cawley et al., 2013). Not only can it cause an immediate release of dopamine, but when practiced consistently, this activity may even lead to a rise in the expression levels of certain dopamine receptors.”
― Nick Trenton, Master Your Dopamine: How to Rewire Your Brain for Focus and Peak Performance

“we become aware of this and take a moment to consider why this work is important to us and what would happen if we don't do it, we may turn our limbic system's fear of avoidance against it and beat it at its own game.”
― Nick Trenton, Master Your Dopamine: How to Rewire Your Brain for Focus and Peak Performance

“Second example: You, with an emotional chain of thought: If I don’t get this done by tonight, I might fail this class! I will disappoint everyone I hold dear! This can’t be happening! I shall power through even if it takes me all night! It's so impressive that in both of these cases, the individual decided to pay attention to their emotions and take the time to explain to themselves why the fear of avoidance was greater than the fear of discomfort. They used this as a motivating factor and realized that not taking action was more terrifying than not doing what they said they would. As we all know, taking that first step toward a goal will always give us a hit of dopamine; if we just keep going and smashing out even more goals, it keeps on coming!”
― Nick Trenton, Master Your Dopamine: How to Rewire Your Brain for Focus and Peak Performance

“Creating and reinforcing new habits has never been easier than with celebrations. Research has revealed that when people find a celebration that resonates with them and deliver it immediately after or while performing the action, their brain will develop the pathway to help make it an automatic behavior in the future.”
― Nick Trenton, Master Your Dopamine: How to Rewire Your Brain for Focus and Peak Performance

“Grit is passion and perseverance for very long-term goals. Grit is having stamina. Grit is sticking with your future, day in, day out, not just for the week, not just for the month, but for years, and working really hard to make that future a reality. Grit is living life like it’s a marathon, not a sprint.”  -Angela Lee Duckworth”
― Nick Trenton, Master Your Dopamine: How to Rewire Your Brain for Focus and Peak Performance

“This is backed up by science; when people are doing something meaningful, the brain releases dopamine. So if people want to increase their happiness and contentment levels, they should consider spending time on activities that are closely tied to their core values. Not only will this make them a more fulfilled individual, it'll also give their mind and soul a much needed boost!”
― Nick Trenton, Master Your Dopamine: How to Rewire Your Brain for Focus and Peak Performance

“Professor David Welch explains that people who don’t take the time for self-reflection tend to make bad decisions because they do not understand their own position. He encourages readers to ask themselves specific questions like: “Will the outcome of my decision move me closer to what I truly want? Does the benefit outweigh the cost? Is the level of risk worth the reward? How committed am I to this change?”
― Nick Trenton, Master Your Dopamine: How to Rewire Your Brain for Focus and Peak Performance

“many top athletes are taught to visualize their goals immediately prior to a competition. They see themselves winning the game, winning the race, or scoring the game-winning point. They are taught to "imagine" what they want to happen rather than what they don't want to occur. If they accomplish this, their chances of success skyrocket (Meyers and Schleser, 1980). Seeing themselves succeed helps people believe that they can.”
― Nick Trenton, Master Your Dopamine: How to Rewire Your Brain for Focus and Peak Performance

“Holmes and Collins (2001) found that visualizing success involves creating internal cognitive representations that mirror actual action. This helps release dopamine, improve motivation, and build confidence while encouraging improved execution when performing outside of one’s imagination. As such, visualizing success can be an incredibly useful tool for any athlete or performer wishing to maximize their potential within a competitive environment.”
― Nick Trenton, Master Your Dopamine: How to Rewire Your Brain for Focus and Peak Performance

“When it comes to internet use and video games, avoid anything designed by a company (movies/television) or requiring frequent input (scrolling/clicking), because such goods prioritize user engagement over user well-being.”
― Nick Trenton, Master Your Dopamine: How to Rewire Your Brain for Focus and Peak Performance

“Adding friction to a task can be an incredibly successful way of changing our behavior. Humans tend to come up with the path of least resistance, and if you give us more work or make it difficult, we won't often go the extra mile.”
― Nick Trenton, Master Your Dopamine: How to Rewire Your Brain for Focus and Peak Performance