0:03 Hello there. Feeling flat, foggy, and
0:05 fried, aren't we? Drained.
0:07 Drained.
0:09 Your energy, motivation, and zest for
0:12 life that you once had just
0:15 seems to have disappeared.
0:17 And now nothing feels fun anymore, does it?
0:18 it?
0:20 So, you've been scrolling,
0:23 understandably so, secretly hoping that
0:26 the next video you watch might finally
0:28 change something and snap you out of how
0:31 you're feeling. But
0:34 nothing's been working, has it?
0:35 In fact, every video you watch just
0:38 seems to drain your energy a little bit more.
0:40 more.
0:42 Drain your energy so much, in fact, you
0:43 might secretly be hoping I start
0:45 speaking quicker than I am and getting
0:47 straight to the solution and telling you
0:48 exactly what you need to do. But I'm not
0:51 going to do that just yet
0:54 because we need to slow down.
0:57 Now look, I know you desperately want to
0:59 stop feeling like this and get back to
1:01 feeling like your happy, motivated self
1:03 that can face life and all its
1:07 challenges. But the problem is, no one's
1:10 ever taught you how to do so. But I've
1:12 got some good news amongst all of this pessimism.
1:14 pessimism.
1:18 You are not broken.
1:20 You're just a bit overstimulated and in
1:23 something called a dopamine hole. Easily
1:25 done. I was in one last week for about 5
1:28 days, but I managed to get out of it
1:31 after finding a new solution. And it's
1:32 this solution I'm going to share with
1:34 you within the next few minutes of this
1:36 video. So you can get out of your
1:39 dopamine hole right now and get back to
1:42 feeling like your happy, motivated self,
1:43 but without forcing discipline or
1:46 motivation onto yourself and without you
1:48 needing to change everything about your
1:51 personality and life like that. So let's
1:53 get into it. Now look, I'm going to
1:55 share that solution with you in the next
1:59 few minutes. But before I do so, we need
2:01 to start in a bit of a boring and
2:05 annoying place. We need to understand
2:07 why we're here in the first place. Why
2:10 have you fallen in to a dopamine hole?
2:12 Now, look, I know that's annoying
2:14 because you do just want the solution
2:16 right now. You want me to tell you what
2:17 to do to stop feeling how you're
2:19 feeling, and we're going to get to that.
2:21 But the reason why we're covering this
2:23 quickly first is because if I give you
2:26 the solution now, it won't hit because
2:28 you'll be trying to fix something you
2:30 don't understand, which is impossible.
2:32 You can't fix something you don't
2:33 understand. In fact, to understand
2:36 something is to fix it. So, look, we're
2:37 going to quickly cover why we fall into
2:39 dopamine holes in the first place. And
2:42 as we cover this information, chill. Let
2:45 me take the lead on this one. I don't
2:47 want you to remember all of the
2:49 information. Just see what sticks out
2:53 and feel the words as I say them. That's
2:58 all. Chill. So when we chase cheap
3:01 pleasure, and I say we because I'm very
3:03 much involved in this. When we chase
3:04 cheap pleasure such as scrolling,
3:07 watching pornography, eating junk food,
3:10 or playing video games, our brain's
3:13 motivational battery drains, which is
3:17 why we feel flat, foggy, and fried.
3:20 But we don't want to feel those things,
3:22 do we? So what do we do? We chase more
3:24 cheap pleasure to relieve ourselves from
3:26 these feelings.
3:29 But that only leads to one place, being
3:31 in a dopamine hole. But what is a
3:33 dopamine hole? Let's get really clear on
3:36 what this is. Well, a dopamine hole is
3:39 simply a state of mind where you're
3:42 chasing cheap pleasure,
3:45 but nothing satisfies you. And then soon
3:48 enough the things that really matter in
3:51 your life such as the necessary admin or
3:53 the hard tasks, you know, the exercise,
3:56 the productive work,
3:59 those things just feel too hard to face.
4:02 Maybe this is resonating with you right
4:05 now as it was with me last week. Now,
4:08 why does this happen? Well, it happens because
4:11 because
4:13 every time you flood your brain with
4:16 quick spikes in pleasure, annoyingly,
4:18 you're also flooding it with
4:21 longerlasting spikes in pain. Because
4:23 when it comes to pleasure, pain, and the
4:27 brain, there is no free lunch. Meaning,
4:30 every burst of pleasure must be paid
4:34 back. I know that stings and I really
4:37 wish this wasn't true, but it is true.
4:40 So, I would rather you know this than be
4:42 ignorant of it.
4:43 And the reason why our brain does this
4:46 just quickly is because it wants to
4:48 maintain a balance of its dopamine
4:51 levels. That's why big peaks in pleasure
4:55 always are followed by deep dips in pain
4:57 because your brain needs to go up down
5:00 in order to come back up to baseline.
5:02 And that's why when we chase cheap
5:05 pleasure, we don't feel energized, do
5:08 we? No. We feel like we're in a ditch
5:11 because technically we are. Now, that's
5:13 the understanding.
5:15 But the problem here is that likely
5:17 hasn't made you feel any better. If
5:19 anything, it's probably made you feel a
5:21 bit worse, right? Because you now feel a
5:23 bit guilty and shameful for all the time
5:26 you spent scrolling or doing any one of
5:30 these cheap, pleasurable activities.
5:33 But but but we don't need that guilt or
5:34 shame. That's not going to help us here.
5:37 So let's get rid of those two things by
5:39 quickly covering what a dopamine hole isn't.
5:41 isn't.
5:44 A dopamine hole is not failure. It's not
5:47 laziness. It's not weakness. It's not a
5:49 personality flaw that you are doomed to
5:53 repeat. Nor is it clinical depression or burnout.
5:55 burnout.
5:57 Even though it can feel like all of
5:59 those things, a dopamine hole is simply
6:03 a neurochemical low caused by a bit of
6:06 over stimulation.
6:08 That's all.
6:10 So now you have the understanding. Let's
6:13 get you out of this dopamine hole. And
6:14 once you understand this solution,
6:17 you'll realize getting out of it is
6:21 actually quite easy. Here's the method I
6:23 have used to get out of my dopamine holes.
6:33 The bigger picture solution here is you
6:36 need to unplug from the sources of cheap
6:38 pleasure and give your brain and body
6:40 one to three days of time and space to
6:43 recover and reensitize. But how do you
6:45 do that? What's the new method here?
6:48 Well, you follow the store method which
6:50 involves the painful shift from making
6:53 easy choices that lead to a hard life to
6:56 making hard choices that lead to an easy
6:58 life. And why do we use the word store
7:00 in this acronym? Well, because the idea
7:04 is you need to treat your dopamine like
7:07 a precious currency that you store
7:12 instead of let leak.
7:13 Now, let's get you out of this dopamine
7:16 hole and back on track. Here is this
7:18 method in more detail and exactly what
7:21 to do next. We're shifting gears now.
7:23 It's going to be a bit more upbeat and a
7:25 different vibe.
7:28 Solution hats on.
7:30 Let's get you out.
7:33 Time for another annoying harsh truth. A
7:35 dopamine hole gets deeper the longer you
7:37 keep chasing cheap pleasure. So, your
7:39 first move towards getting out of it and
7:42 getting back on track isn't heroic. No,
7:44 it's actually boring, frustrating, and
7:47 the last thing you want to do right now.
7:50 Stop digging.
7:51 Close the tab. Turn your phone off. Put
7:53 it in another room. Delete the app. Turn
7:56 the TV off. Throw the junk food away.
7:59 Turn off the source that is leaking your
8:02 dopamine. And the key shift here is
8:04 you're not denying yourself pleasure,
8:06 although it will feel like that. You're
8:08 simply hitting pause on the things that
8:10 offer you pleasure in the short term,
8:12 but that are quietly draining your
8:16 energy in the long term. Stop digging. Then
8:24 tune into the body. You can't rely on
8:26 your brain here because remember it's
8:28 fried. So you need to do something that
8:31 gets you out of your head and into your
8:33 body. Why? Well, because if you want to
8:34 climb out of the hole, you need to be
8:38 physically ready to climb. You need
8:42 energy. So, do one of the of any of the
8:45 following energy creating things.
8:47 Hyperventilate for 30 seconds. And then
8:49 after the 30 seconds, hold your breath
8:53 for a minute. Breathe like this.
8:55 Yes. As if your ex is chasing you with
8:56 printed out screenshots of text
9:00 messages. Or smash out 15 pressups. Rush
9:02 to the toilet and splash cold water on
9:04 your face. Do the crazy monkey shake for
9:07 30 seconds. Shake your hands and arms.
9:09 Your hands and arms. Shake your arms and
9:12 legs as if you're trying to warm up
9:15 after getting out of a cold shower.
9:17 Or smash out a forward fold like they do
9:19 in yoga. And send me a photo of it. No,
9:21 I'm joking.
9:23 Doing any one of these will create
9:27 energy in your body and it will send a
9:32 clear cue to your brain of oh, we're
9:35 doing this now. We're changing
9:37 direction. But the key thing to note
9:40 here is you won't want to do this.
9:42 You're probably sat lounging on the sofa
9:44 just straight up chilling right now. You
9:47 won't want to move. But if you want to
9:51 get out of this hole, you have to create
9:54 energy where there is none. This is how
10:07 one small win. Now you have a spark of
10:09 energy. So what you need to do now is
10:11 treat that spark like the small embers
10:14 of a fire and channel it towards
10:17 building more momentum and bigger sparks
10:19 before the spark fades. Because that
10:21 energy you've just created, the spark
10:24 has a time limit. And it's important you
10:25 channel it towards building more
10:27 momentum. Because when you're in a
10:29 dopamine hole, you don't have any
10:32 momentum. You're stagnant. Focusing on
10:34 one small win after the energy spark
10:38 you've just created helps you get some
10:41 of that momentum back. So, first of all,
10:43 look around your room or wherever you
10:46 are and just ask what needs doing. What
10:49 is the next thing and then pick one?
10:52 Make the bed, shower, gulp down a glass
10:54 of water, hoover the floor, wash up a
10:58 plate, brush your teeth. Just pick one.
10:59 And the key thing to note here is this
11:02 isn't about productivity. This isn't
11:04 about getting things done for the sake
11:07 of it. No, this is simply about
11:10 reclaiming your momentum so you can get
11:12 out of the hole and simply delivering
11:15 one key message to your brain. Not only
11:18 are we moving in this direction, but
11:29 regulate with 10 to 15 minutes. Just
11:31 like the spark you created from the get
11:33 into your body exercise won't last
11:36 forever. Neither will the momentum you
11:39 get from the one small win you just did
11:42 last forever. But those two things give
11:45 you the necessary nudge in the right
11:48 direction. So, all you need to do now is
11:50 take the momentum you get from those
11:52 nudges and channel it towards doing a
11:56 lowresistance, high stability habit for
11:58 no longer than 10 to 15 minutes. For
12:01 example, take a short walk around the
12:04 block. No earphones, no phone with you,
12:07 just your thoughts. Read three pages of
12:09 a book, put the kettle on, make a cup of
12:12 tea, and sit in silence and drink the
12:15 cup of tea quietly. Have a shave.
12:17 stretch on the floor for fif for five
12:19 minutes. Cook a nutritious meal. Or if
12:20 you don't have nutritious ingredients in
12:22 the house, quickly pop to the shop, get
12:24 five or six things that you could use to
12:29 cook. Doing these activities
12:33 are hard. As simple and as easy as they
12:35 might seem, they're hard because you're
12:37 in a dopamine hole. But doing these
12:39 activities will restore your dopamine
12:42 levels naturally. Why? Well, think about
12:45 it this way. When you're in a dopamine
12:47 hole, you're choosing pleasure first,
12:49 pain later, because you're chasing the
12:52 cheap, pleasurable activities.
12:54 That's why we said cheap pleasure
12:56 doesn't leave you feeling energized. It
12:57 leaves you feeling like you're in a
12:59 ditch. This is another way of saying
13:02 that. What you're choosing now, however,
13:05 with regulating with 10 to 15 minutes is
13:07 you're choosing pain first because you
13:09 understand when you do these things,
13:11 you're not going to be over the moon and
13:12 joyed at how pleasurable they are. But
13:14 no, they're likely going to feel painful
13:16 because you're in a dopamine hole. But
13:18 if you persist with them, you're going
13:21 to be also you're going to also be
13:24 choosing pleasure later. This is the
13:29 reward for pain first and then two more things.
13:36 Engage one target. This is where most
13:39 people go wrong and the main reason why
13:41 most people stay in their dopamine holes
13:43 for much longer than they need to. You
13:46 see, most people use their bursts of
13:49 momentum and energy to try and catch up
13:52 on everything that they need to do.
13:55 Don't do that because you're not
13:57 focusing on escaping this dopamine hole
14:00 within a few hours. That's not going to
14:02 happen. I think you know that by now.
14:04 All that you need to focus on instead is
14:07 simply moving in the right direction and
14:10 following the momentum and sparks of
14:14 energy from each step you do along the
14:16 way. So after you've done the body
14:19 spark, had one small win regulated with
14:21 10 to 15 minutes, you now need to choose
14:23 one target you're going to re-enter the
14:26 day with in no matter how much time is
14:29 left throughout your day. You do so by
14:31 asking this question. If I only did one
14:34 thing today with the energy I have right
14:37 now, what would make me feel accomplished?
14:46 For example, that might be a 30 minute
14:49 walk, 60 minutes of work, get into the
14:51 gym and slog in through a workout.
14:53 That's usually my one when I'm in a
14:55 dopamine hole and what I use this week.
14:58 or you might respond to five openlooped
15:00 openlooped messages that you've been
15:04 ignoring. You pick one thing. You focus
15:07 on that and nothing else for the rest of
15:11 the day. And doing that
15:14 snaps you out of scattered energy
15:18 and soothes you back in to clarity and focus.
15:20 focus.
15:30 reflecting on the signal. As you start
15:33 to walk on level ground again and you
15:35 feel your motivation becomes steady and
15:38 your enjoyment for life comes slightly
15:42 back online, reflect on the feedback
15:45 from the previous hole. Ask what led me
15:47 into the hole today. Was I tired, bored,
15:50 avoiding something? What can I adjust
15:53 tonight or tomorrow to prevent the dip
15:56 from happening again? Just get one
16:00 golden nugget from this dip and then it
16:02 becomes a case of you're grateful that
16:05 you fell into it.
16:15 stop digging. Tune into the body.
16:18 One small win. Regulate with 10 to 15
16:22 minutes. Engage one target and then
16:24 reflect on the signal.
16:27 Store your dopamine.
16:30 Don't leak it. Thank you very much for
16:31 your time and attention. Stay
16:35 disciplined, playful, and dangerous. Jas.
