Attention has become a valuable currency, and almost everything out there is designed to garner our attention.

From billboards to short-form video, from the guy revving his engine to the devices we're basically attached to.

If you go out into the world and just observe human activity, you'll notice nearly every single person is, in some form or another, distracted.

Of course, there are outliers, and that's exactly why I'm writing this newsletter.

I want to become one of those outliers, and I want you to join me on this path.

Cool?

Cool.

Okay, so first we need to diagnose what's going on here.

While I'll be the first to admit that I find much of modernity, culture, and science to be in a state of disarray and corruption, in the realm of neuroscience there is consistent practical knowledge we can utilize.

We don't need a deep dive here; common sense already has basically all the tools we need to get a wrap on what's going on.

Dopamine is more or less a reward system. If utilized incorrectly, our brains get fixated with destructive rewards.

On the contrary, by utilizing this reward system we can become remarkably disciplined, and empowered. Discipline gets a bad rep in many camps, but what discipline actually is, at it’s core, is freedom.

Cheap dopamine:

Porn

Video Games

TV Shows

Junk Food / Fast Food

Doom Scrolling

Likes on social media

Over Shopping

Obsessing over work

The list goes on, you get the picture.

Long-term, these short-term rewards deplete our lives and leave us feeling numb, empty, disconnected, and yearning for something more. When caught up in these negative dopamine loops, we're often so buried beneath them that we can't even perceive how we truly feel.

We go from cheap dopamine hit to cheap dopamine hit, losing out on our God-given glory as our life passes by.

Even when we're numbed down, however, beneath the perceptible surface, deep in the essence of our being, we know something isn't right.

We know we're not really who we want to be or doing what we want to be doing.

Facing the truth about our addictions and downfalls can be painful and challenging.

Our environments trigger us, and we go right back to our coping mechanisms, avoiding the truth.

We become cope-aholics.

When people of old age or people nearing the end of their lives are asked about what their biggest regrets are, never do they answer "I wish I would have watched more porn," or "I sure wish I had read more news headlines!"

That's because the truth is, living a full life is actually relatively simple. You know, sometimes simplicity is deceptively challenging.

Some of the most difficult musical pieces are simple.

Some of the most difficult football plays are simple.

Some of the hardest exercises are simple.

You get the point.

Enriching dopamine:

Reading

Writing

Exercising

Being present

Being grateful

Cooking

Generosity

Friendship

Gardening

Creativity

Long term planning

Delayed gratification

The things that get us off the hamster wheel and remove our brains from the dopamine casinos are where we find the most enriching rewards.

What do people actually regret when they're knowingly approaching their life's end?

They regret living the life others expected of them, straying from their authenticity and following the culture that lead them astray.

They regret working so hard. Of course, we live in a currency-based world, but "work, work, work" is an imbalance. So we must seek to find a balance with our workloads.

They regret not expressing themselves. Repression is one of the 'cheap dopamine economy's' greatest tools. A repressed mind is a stressed mind seeking a quick out. So we must learn to be vulnerable, open, and courageous.

They regret not maintaining friendships. Of course, people come and people go, but the effort is what counts. We must learn to value true connection and genuine companionship, at the risk of being hurt.

They wish they had allowed themselves to be happier. Odds are, especially if you're reading this, you've got it good. Pretty dang good. So we must learn to keep gratitude as a central focus, and choose to live in our happiness, and no longer push happiness down the road.

Our environments have a tremendous impact on our willpower.

Our willpower is finite.

Each person has limited willpower.

You might be able to sit in front of a stack of home-baked cookies for an hour without eating one, but try doing it for two hours, three hours. Each person has their breaking point.

With that being said, I'd like to leave some actionable, non-judgmental, and positive advice.

I can't get everything I would like into just one newsletter, but I think the most valuable tip I can drop here is:

The absolute easiest way to start building trust within yourself, and embellishing your life with enriching dopamine, is to curate and design your home to be low in cheap dopamine triggers and high in enriching dopamine triggers.

Here’s a couple of examples.

1. Leave your phone outside the bedroom at night time. Place a book near your bed. Instead of scrolling, read. Your brain will rapidly begin to rewire itself to replace the bad with the good. Before you know it, you'll be thrilled for those bedtime reading sessions.

Take that same example and extrapolate it into any area you'd like.

1. Video game addict? Sell the games, ditch the screens.
2. Can’t stop chompin on junk food. Don’t buy it. Don’t bring it into your home.

While these things can seem jarring, and consumerist culture will do everything in its power to tell you otherwise and normalize your own self-destruction, you have to trust the process.

You must move forward with courage, embrace the elements of pain and discomfort, and be willing to exist outside the cultural norms.

Remember, you’re not going to look back with regret and say “If only I had played Mario Cart just a few more times!”.

What is a cheap dopamine source you would like to eliminate? Find that problem, devise an environmental solution, and give it a shot.

You can absolutely do this.

We’ll be diving into this topic deeper in the next newsletter. See you soon!

With Love,

Signing out.

Jason

Hidden Layers Newsletter #001