“Hard work is hard.” - Andrew Huberman

Turn effort into a reward. Don’t spike dopamine prior to engaging in effort, and dont’t spike dopamine after engaging in effort. Learn to spike your dopamine from effort itself.

Intrensic versus extrinsic reinforcment

If you receive reward for some activity, you will tend to associate less pleasure with the acctual activity itsel that evoked the reward.

That does not mean that all rewards of all kinds are bad, but it is also important to understand that dopamine controls our perception of time.

When we expect reward at the end ( i.e. exercise ) we extending the time bin over which we are analyzing or perceiving that experience.

And because the reward comes at the end we start to dissociate the neural circuits for dopamine, and reward that would have normally been active during the activity.

And because it all arrives at the end, over time, we have the experience of less and less pleasure from that particular activity while we doing it.

Now, this is the antithesis of growth mindset.

Stiving itself is end goal.

Being focused on effort itself.

Learning to access rewards from effort and doing.

And that’s hard to do.

What is more beneficial, in fact can serve as a tremendous amplifier on all endevours that you engage in. Especially hard endevours, is to

  • not start layering in other sources of dopamine in order to get to the starting line
  • not start layering in other sources of dopamine in order to be able to continue
  • rather, to subjectively start to attach the feeling of friction and effort to an internally generated reward system

You can tell yourself, the effort part is the good part.

I know it’s painful, I know this doesn’t feel good, but i’m focused on this.

I’m going to start to access the reward.

In moments of the most intensive friction you tell yourself this is very painful.

And because it is painful it will evoke an increase in dopamine release leter, meaning it will increase my baseline in dopamine.

But you also have to tell yourself that in that moment you are doing it by choice and you’re doing it because you love it.

It is lying to yourself, but in context of a truth, which is that you want it to feel better.

You want it to feel even pleasurful.

This is very far and away different, from thinking about the reward that comes at the end, the hot fudge sunday after you cross the finish line.

Turn effort into a reward.

Don’t spike dopamine prior to engaging in effort, and dont’t spike dopamine after engaging in effort.

Learn to spike your dopamine from effort itself.

Maximizing Productivity, Physical & Mental Health with Daily Tools | Huberman Lab Podcast #28

summary:

MORNING

  • Wake up at the same time every day, record wake time (2 hrs before was temperature minimum)
  • Walk outside for 10-60 minutes (leads to focused alertness)
  • Drink 32 oz water with 0.5 tsp salt
  • Delay coffee until 90-120 minutes after waking
  • Delay food until ~12pm
  • Work ritual: 90-minute deep work period starting 4 hrs after waking (keep computer at eye-level, play white noise)
  • 1 hr workout (cycles of 3 days of lifting, 2 days of cardio then 3 days of cardio, 2 days of lifting)

AFTERNOON

  • Lower-carb lunch (mostly meat and vegetables, add bread/rice/oatmeal if you exercised). Try to not eat much past 80% full. Get omega 3s.
  • Walk 5-30 minutes after lunch.
  • Some form of relaxation practice.
  • Another 90-minute deep work session.
  • Walk 10-30 minutes around 4-5pm

EVENING

  • Eat high-starchy carb dinner with some protein to improve sleep
  • Take a hot shower/20 minute sauna before sleep
  • Go to sleep at the same time every day in a dark, cool room