Motivation on Demand

Nov 18

You can shatter your lack of motivation by simply hacking your brain.

I spend a lot of time in counseling sessions with people who struggle with motivation.

There are many reasons for this, and some are complex and run deep into their past. However, there is a simple trick many people can use to break through their lack of energy.

The secret is…

Dopamine.

Dopamine is a hot button issue right now. Every podcast from Andrew Huberman and beyond has spent time talking about it.

Truth be told, they’re pretty much spot on. We don’t understand dopamine and we’re harming ourselves with constant dopamine spikes and instant gratification activities.

However, dopamine isn’t an inherently bad thing. In fact, it’s critical to our functioning. Dopamine has a naturally beneficial role in the body. Even better though, you can “hack” the brain’s use of dopamine to help launch yourself into new tasks.

The idea is to pair a tough activity with something that spikes dopamine.
When you are struggling to get started on something like a work project or cleaning the house, kickstart yourself with something novel or enjoyable.

You could:

Go to a new coffee shop to begin a challenging work project.

or

Play upbeat music when you need to clean.

Simply combining the work with something fun will let you use the dopamine to help push you past resistance. This lets you use your brains dopamine to give you a boost when you NEED it, not just when the world wants you to feel one.

Nothing about this is revolutionary. We’ve all played music during a workout to get us going. But when stress piles up, and your life feels like nothing but dreading what you need to do, we can forget these simple techniques.

Pick one thing today that will be a challenge, and pair it with something novel or enjoyable. Enjoy the ease it brings.

MotivationResistanceNeuroscience

Jacob Frazier

Jacob Frazier, LMHC, MA, NCC, is a mental health counselor with Archangel Catholic.

Jacob holds a master's degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Gonzaga University. As a mental health counselor, Jacob has a passion for facilitating personal and interpersonal development, vocational/career discernment, and helping people apply their strengths and Catholic faith to the challenges of daily living.

Jacob has extensive clinical history of assessing and working with clients experiencing emotional dysregulation, depression, anxiety, struggling with relationships and commitment, facing addictions, and struggling with trauma.

Jacob is trained in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, which he used on a treatment team that served individuals with moderate to severe diagnoses. Jacob is also trained in EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing) centered on posttraumatic stress related to abuse, neglect, and other traumatic life experiences. He also has an interest in helping men foster a healthy understanding of masculinity and assist in cultivating virtue.