Dopamine Detox Quotes

“Here’s my point. The world is working against you. There will always be someone trying to grab your attention. As such, you have two choices. You can protect your focus by building habits and systems, or you can remain unprepared and let anyone distract you from the important things you should be doing with your time.”
― Thibaut Meurisse, Dopamine Detox : A Short Guide to Remove Distractions and Train Your Brain to Do Hard Things

“Trick #3—excitement is not the same thing as fulfillment”
― Thibaut Meurisse, Dopamine Detox : A Short Guide to Remove Distractions and Train Your Brain to Do Hard Things

“Social media notifications are a great example of how your brain is being hijacked. Whenever you see a notification, you anticipate the reward you’ll receive when clicking on it, which triggers the release of dopamine in your brain. However, this doesn’t make you happy or fulfill you—at least not for long.”
― Thibaut Meurisse, Dopamine Detox : A Short Guide to Remove Distractions and Train Your Brain to Do Hard Things

“Reflect on your life When we’re constantly busy and overstimulated, we sometimes fail to take a step back. We can’t see the forest for the trees. Use your dopamine detox as a way to zoom out. To do so: Reflect on your goals. What goals are you pursuing? Are they the right ones for you? Are you making progress toward them each day? And if you keep doing what you’re doing, will you reach them? Assess how you’re using your time. Are you being truly productive each day? Do you spend time on things that matter? Which activities or projects do you really need to focus on? Which ones do you want to stop doing? Self-reflect. Are you where you want to be in life? What inner work could you do to improve yourself?”
― Thibaut Meurisse, Dopamine Detox : A Short Guide to Remove Distractions and Train Your Brain to Do Hard Things

“I believe that social media, and the internet as a whole, have negatively impacted our ability to both think long-term and to focus deeply on the task in front of us. It is no surprise, therefore, that Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, prohibited his children from using phones or tablets—even though his business was to sell millions of them to his customers! The billionaire investor and former senior executive at Facebook, Chamath Palihapitiya, argues that we must rewire our brain to focus on the long term, which starts by removing social media apps from our phones. In his words, such apps, “wire your brain for super-fast feedback.” By receiving constant feedback, whether through likes, comments, or immediate replies to our messages, we condition ourselves to expect fast results with everything we do. And this feeling is certainly reinforced through ads for schemes to help us “get rich quick”, and through cognitive biases (i.e., we only hear about the richest and most successful YouTubers, not about the ones who fail). As we demand more and more stimulation, our focus is increasingly geared toward the short term and our vision of reality becomes distorted. This leads us to adopt inaccurate mental models such as: Success should come quickly and easily, or I don’t need to work hard to lose weight or make money. Ultimately, this erroneous concept distorts our vision of reality and our perception of time. We can feel jealous of people who seem to have achieved overnight success. We can even resent popular YouTubers. Even worse, we feel inadequate. It can lead us to think we are just not good enough, smart enough, or disciplined enough. Therefore, we feel the need to compensate by hustling harder. We have to hurry before we miss the opportunity. We have to find the secret that will help us become successful. And, in this frenetic race, we forget one of the most important values of all: patience. No, watching motivational videos all day long won’t help you reach your goals. But, performing daily consistent actions, sustained over a long period of time will. Staying calm and focusing on the one task in front of you every day will. The point is, to achieve long-term goals in your personal or professional life, you must regain control of your attention and rewire your brain to focus on the long term. To do so, you should start by staying away from highly stimulating activities.”
― Thibaut Meurisse, Dopamine Detox : A Short Guide to Remove Distractions and Train Your Brain to Do Hard Things

“Dopamine and constant stimulation can impair your ability to think long term”
― Thibaut Meurisse, Dopamine Detox : A Short Guide to Remove Distractions and Train Your Brain to Do Hard Things

“When you reclaim your focus and use it to achieve your biggest goals, you can transform your life radically. You can make more money by channeling your focus into great work, and you can increase your well-being by redirecting it toward more meaningful activities (i.e., spending time with your family and friends or engaging in your favorite hobbies). Here’s my point. The world is working against you. There will always be someone trying to grab your attention. As such, you have two choices. You can protect your focus by building habits and systems, or you can remain unprepared and let anyone distract you from the important things you should be doing with your time.”
― Thibaut Meurisse, Dopamine Detox : A Short Guide to Remove Distractions and Train Your Brain to Do Hard Things

“Practicing doing nothing is a good way to lower your level of stimulation.”
― Thibaut Meurisse, Dopamine Detox : A Short Guide to Remove Distractions and Train Your Brain to Do Hard Things

“Being intentional with your day is an effective way to boost your productivity.”
― Thibaut Meurisse, Dopamine Detox : A Short Guide to Remove Distractions and Train Your Brain to Do Hard Things

“During the ten days, the participants are required to: Maintain complete silence (and have no gesture or eye contact with anyone), Have no physical contact, Take no physical exercise,”
― Thibaut Meurisse, Dopamine Detox : A Short Guide to Remove Distractions and Train Your Brain to Do Hard Things

“Music (except perhaps for relaxation music), Phone, Social media, Sugar/processed foods, and Video games.”
― Thibaut Meurisse, Dopamine Detox : A Short Guide to Remove Distractions and Train Your Brain to Do Hard Things

“you need to remove the following things from your life for 48 hours: Drug/alcohol consumption, Exercising, Internet, Movies,”
― Thibaut Meurisse, Dopamine Detox : A Short Guide to Remove Distractions and Train Your Brain to Do Hard Things

“The billionaire investor and former senior executive at Facebook, Chamath Palihapitiya, argues that we must rewire our brain to focus on the long term, which starts by removing social media apps from our phones. In his words, such apps, “wire your brain for super-fast feedback.” By receiving constant feedback, whether through likes, comments, or immediate replies to our messages, we condition ourselves to expect fast results with everything we do. And this feeling is certainly reinforced through ads for schemes to help us “get rich quick”, and through cognitive biases (i.e., we only hear about the richest and most successful YouTubers, not about the ones who fail).”
― Thibaut Meurisse, Dopamine Detox : A Short Guide to Remove Distractions and Train Your Brain to Do Hard Things

“Studies have shown that one of the best predictors of success is the ability to think long term. People who repeatedly focus on where they want to be in the future, make better decisions in the present. They tend to eat healthier food, be more productive at work and save and invest more money than others.”
― Thibaut Meurisse, Dopamine Detox : A Short Guide to Remove Distractions and Train Your Brain to Do Hard Things

“Build the foundations for success one brick at a time. Build them strong so that they won’t collapse at the first obstacle or setback.”
― Thibaut Meurisse, Dopamine Detox : A Short Guide to Remove Distractions and Train Your Brain to Do Hard Things

“Identify your biggest temptations and/or distractions and write them down on the sheet of paper. Then, make sure you put the sheet in a prominent position.”
― Thibaut Meurisse, Dopamine Detox : A Short Guide to Remove Distractions and Train Your Brain to Do Hard Things

“Action step Using your action guide, write down at least one activity you could engage in every day in order to stay calm and focused.”
― Thibaut Meurisse, Dopamine Detox : A Short Guide to Remove Distractions and Train Your Brain to Do Hard Things

“Action step Using your action guide, write down a few examples of open systems that lead to you becoming distracted. Then, write down one closed system you could implement to help you increase your productivity.”
― Thibaut Meurisse, Dopamine Detox : A Short Guide to Remove Distractions and Train Your Brain to Do Hard Things

“If you have any problems or worries, write them down alongside potential solutions. Just putting your thoughts on paper can help you declutter your mind and gain clarity. This is because it’s difficult to address thoughts that stay in your mind. You tend to ruminate on them. On the other hand, writing them down makes them more concrete. It helps clarify your thinking. By giving words to your thoughts (or worries), you can address them more easily.”
― Thibaut Meurisse, Dopamine Detox : A Short Guide to Remove Distractions and Train Your Brain to Do Hard Things

“Write down your goals for the day, Write down three things you’re grateful for, or Repeat positive affirmations.”
― Thibaut Meurisse, Dopamine Detox : A Short Guide to Remove Distractions and Train Your Brain to Do Hard Things

“term, a simple morning routine can make a massive difference in your life. What about you? What’s the first thing you do when you wake up? Does this help you remain calm and focused, or does it lead you to feel overstimulated and result in procrastination?”
― Thibaut Meurisse, Dopamine Detox : A Short Guide to Remove Distractions and Train Your Brain to Do Hard Things

“To establish your morning routine, write down two or three simple things you could do each morning. You’ll use these activities to kickstart your dopamine detox—and, hopefully, you will stick to the routine over the long term. Remember that the routine should deepen your focus rather than stimulate you. For instance, you could: Meditate, Stretch, Listen to some relaxation music,”
― Thibaut Meurisse, Dopamine Detox : A Short Guide to Remove Distractions and Train Your Brain to Do Hard Things

“Then, look at your list of “Cans” and write down things you could do to eliminate friction.”
― Thibaut Meurisse, Dopamine Detox : A Short Guide to Remove Distractions and Train Your Brain to Do Hard Things

“Look at your list of “Can’ts”. Next to each of them, write down specific things you could do to add friction.”
― Thibaut Meurisse, Dopamine Detox : A Short Guide to Remove Distractions and Train Your Brain to Do Hard Things

“Phone, Social media, Sugar/processed foods, and Video games. Each of the above activities stimulates you, some more than others. Now, you might wonder: If I eliminate these distractions, what should I be doing instead? Here are some suggestions: Going for a contemplative walk, Journaling, Meditating/relaxing, Practicing awareness exercises, Reading (except stimulating read perhaps), and”
― Thibaut Meurisse, Dopamine Detox : A Short Guide to Remove Distractions and Train Your Brain to Do Hard Things

“You must eliminate most or all sources of external stimulation for a total of 48 hours. Doing so will help you reduce your overall level of stimulation and revert to your natural state. You will feel much calmer and find it easier to focus on any specific important task. By “eliminating all external sources of stimulation”, I mean you need to remove the following things from your life for 48 hours: Drug/alcohol consumption, Exercising, Internet, Movies, Music (except perhaps for relaxation music),”
― Thibaut Meurisse, Dopamine Detox : A Short Guide to Remove Distractions and Train Your Brain to Do Hard Things

“If I stopped doing only one thing, which one would increase my focus and boost my productivity the most dramatically? What other activity do I need to avoid in order to help me increase my focus most significantly?”
― Thibaut Meurisse, Dopamine Detox : A Short Guide to Remove Distractions and Train Your Brain to Do Hard Things

“In the first column write down all the activities you will allow yourself to engage in. For instance, it might be going for a walk, journaling, working on a project, or reading books. In the second column, write down all the things you must avoid doing during your dopamine detox. For instance, it might be watching YouTube, checking your emails, or using social media.”
― Thibaut Meurisse, Dopamine Detox : A Short Guide to Remove Distractions and Train Your Brain to Do Hard Things

“Excitement can be fun, but make sure you work on developing an inner sense of peace and a heightened state of focus. This is much more likely to bring you fulfillment in the long run.”
― Thibaut Meurisse, Dopamine Detox : A Short Guide to Remove Distractions and Train Your Brain to Do Hard Things

“A dopamine detox helps reduce stimulation, thereby allowing you to revert to a more natural state. When you need less stimulation, seemingly challenging, boring or tedious tasks will become more appealing—and easier to tackle.”
― Thibaut Meurisse, Dopamine Detox : A Short Guide to Remove Distractions and Train Your Brain to Do Hard Things