Reset Your Dopamine: Kickstart

Have you ever looked around and noticed how many people are stuck in life?

Like NPCs in a video game, they drift through their days on autopilot.
Faces sucked into their phones, doing the same thing day after day, never questioning anything - just there as background extras in your movie of life.

But take a step back and really look.

How different are we from them?

Everyone wants to think they’re the hero of their own story.

We all have:

• Big goals we want to hit.

• Dreams of the life we want to live.

• Visions of who we want to become.

But most people never reach their goals.
If we’re being honest, most of them never even try…

Why?

People come up with excuses all the time for why they can’t

“I don't have enough time”
“I don’t know enough yet”
“I don't have the energy”

But the truth is much simpler than that.

They don't know how to focus.

When you're focused, finding the time to do what you need to do is easy.
When you're focused, you know what you need to do to get better.
When you get better, you enjoy the process and want to do more.

This is how you make progress feel effortless.

But the thing is, it’s harder than ever to carve out space for yourself.
Especially in today’s world where everything is fighting to steal your attention...

That’s where a dopamine detox comes in — it’s a hard reset for your brain so you can get your attention back and refocus on what actually matters in life.

And the fact that you’re here right now means you’re on the right path.

Most people don’t have enough awareness to notice this.

Here’s the brutal truth about "most people."

Their lives are a mess.

They wake up tired everyday after getting a horrible night’s sleep.

And what’s the first thing they do?
Pick up their phone and respond to the dings of notifications.

Then, they drug themselves awake with coffee before dragging themselves to a job they hate. Just to spend their best hours of the day making someone else rich.

Once they come home, exhausted, they're too drained to cook. So they order food, fall into their couch, and turn on the tv to escape reality and feel a sense of excitement in their lives again.

their only friends are John Snow, Walter White, Micheal Scott…

Their only accomplishments are when “their team” wins…

Their only struggles are the ones the news tells them…

They distract themselves all day with screens, junk food, and drugs, letting themselves and their environment become the mess that reflects what their lives have become. Distracting themselves all night until their body can’t take it anymore and pass out at 1am… just to start all over the next day.

This isn't life.

This is a vicious downward spiral that will suck up all of your mental energy if you let it.

Its no wonder so many people are fat, angry, depressed, poor, sick, and die without ever having truly lived...

Now, before we keep going... I want you to do something for me.

I want you to pull out your phone.

Don't worry, we're not throwing it out, or deleting all of your apps.

Go ahead and take a second to grab it if its not already in your hands.

I want you to look at something.

Go into your settings, and pull up your 'Screen Time'.

If you have an iPhone:
Go to Settings, then tap Screen Time

If you have an Android:
Go to Settings > Digital Wellbeing & parental controls > Dashboard and check the time under Screen time.

how many hours do you spend each day on your phone?

Take that number and multiply it by 5.

The average person dies at 76.

That number you came up with is the amount of YEARS you'll waste just staring at your phone screen.

So why are we so distracted even when we know it's robbing us of our life?

Because our dopamine systems have hijacked our brains.

Dopamine is the chemical in your brain that makes you motivated to do things.

When you have low dopamine, you have low self-control.

You can use all the:

• Productivity apps

• Planners

• And color-coded calendar systems you want

You will still be a mess because your brain is a biochemical mess

That's why a dopamine detox is so powerful.

It gives your brain a hard reset so you can regain control over your decisions.

While most people are busy spinning their wheels trying to get rich, get in shape, and get laid, they have the order of steps wrong.

they need to create a solid foundation to build their life on.

Get your mind right first.

Don't build your castle on sand.

by fixing your brain first, everything else in your life gets easier.

This is how you hit your goals 10x faster than everyone else and get them thinking:

“WTF did you do?!”

Now, before I give you all the tools to get started…

Its extremely important for you get into the right frame of mind first.

For humans to change, our brains need context to know why we’re doing something.

Since we were cavemen, we've evolved to process information through stories, not facts.

By the end of this newsletter you’re going to have all the tools, tips and tricks you need to go through your dopamine detox and supercharge your focus.

So while I paint the picture for you, use this time to train your mind and build your focus muscle.

The New Food Chain

Let's take a detour for a moment and talk about the animal kingdom.

In the natural world, animals are part of the food chain where the strong eat the weak to gain energy.

Us humans are the apex predators of the animal kingdom.

We've completely dominated our environment into submission to the point where we've escaped the traditional food-chain as we know it.

But what most people haven't realized, is that we’ve replaced one hierarchy for another.

Not another physical one.

But a mental one.

Where attention, not calories is the energy that flows through the system.

this is the new food-chain.

The Attention-Chain.

Just as energy flows through the animal kingdom, attention flows through our social structures.

Our world has shifted from a physical struggle for our survival, into a cognitive struggle for our sanity.

Those who know how to capture attention get to shape our opinions, drive our behaviors, and wield significant power.

Various entities like:

• Religion

• Political Parties

• Special Interest Groups

• Businesses

• Lobbiests

• Personalities

They’re all fighting for your focus and mental real estate.

If it was up to them, they would use you up like a battery until there was nothing left.

Now don’t get me wrong.

The world isn’t an inherently evil place.

Most people and groups have good intentions.

But our world is incentivized around getting attention.

That’s why almost everything in our lives is designed to turn you into an addict.

look around you

Social media gives you an infinite amount of 'content' that hijacks your limbic system and pulls out the most reactionary side of you.

Genetically modified, hyper-palatable 'food' pumped with sugar, salt, and fat,
delivered to your door feels better than cooking chicken, rice and broccoli.

Fear Mongering Politicians tell you the world is going to end so they can sell you the solution and get re-elected.

Liquor Stores, Vape Shops, and Drugs on every corner, promising you an easy way to "take the edge off"…

Just because the odds stacked against you though, doesn't mean you can't escape this vicious cycle.

You've got one thing that no-one has had before.

Knowledge.

Your own personal Library of Alexandria in your pocket.

The internet.

Everything you need to level up in life is at your finger tips.

For the first time in history, you can live the good life without begging anyone else for approval.

All you have to do is follow the path that others have left behind for you.

A Better Way To Live

Have you ever noticed how some people seem to live life on easy mode?

They want to meet someone, now they're best friends.
They want to go somewhere, they're there the next day.
They have an idea, they turn it into reality and make millions.

It’s almost like nothing and no one gets in their way, no challenge is too big.

How is this possible?

They've eliminated all the distractions from their lives.

When you get rid of distraction the only thing left is focus.

And just as the great philosopher Aristotle once told Alexander the Great:

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”

They've become the kind of person who is focused.

Now you might be thinking...

"that's great, but how do I become focused?"

The key to focus is removing distractions from your life
until the only thing left for you to do is focus.

Easier said than done right?

That's why a dopamine detox is so important.

Think of a dopamine detox as a hard reset on your attention span.

like a deep clean for your brain. You throw out all the distractions, and impulses that don't serve you anymore. this gives your brain a chance to return to baseline. “unburdened by what has been.”

(If you’ve never gone through a dopamine detox, you'll be amazed at how it feels to meet your true self again.)

This is the #1 cheat code the most successful people use to get ahead.

Think of the people you admire most.

Odds are, they’ve tapped into this exact mindset to stay at peak performance

What Is Dopamine?

Before we go any further though, you need to know what dopamine actually is so you can know how to control it.

Most people have heard of dopamine, but ask them what it does, and you’ll usually hear something like..

“It’s the pleasure chemical”

or

“It makes you feel good.”

While this is true, it’s not the full story.

Your brain and nervous system are made up of billions of nerve cells, called neurons.

Kind of like kids passing notes in class, neurons pass information to each other using chemicals called neurotransmitters.

Dopamine is one of these note-passing chemicals.

And like most of the neurotransmitters in your body, its main purpose is to get you moving.

Dopamine is there to make you approach or back away from something in your environment.

Especially if it's something new.

Dopamine is what gives you the feeling of anticipation for a reward.

It remembers when you do something that feels good, like:

- Eating calorie dense food

- Binge watching a full season on netflix

- Or that night out drinking at the bar with your friends

but the thing is, it doesn't remember the negative consequences of that behaviour.

that's why people can be addicted to things that they know are bad for them.

Your brain litterally forgets why it's bad.

When something reminds you of a habit, your brain releases a small dose of dopamine.

It brings you back to the peak experience you felt the first time, when it was new and exciting.

But this small dopamine spike crashes just as fast as it comes, and Drags you down below your baseline.

THIS

this is what causes your cravings.

In this dopamine deprived state, your brain locks on to the habit it just remembered and thinks:

"I NEED this to feel good again"

Your brain will try (and win) to move you in whatever way it needs for you to get that hit... Kicking and screaming like a little child that wants candy.

It's only after you give it what it wants, and scratch that itch that it let’s you snap back to your senses.

This is when your ‘post-habit clarity’ kicks in and you remember:

"I didn't want this."

This is how the unconscious addict brain ruins people's lives.

But you don’t need to let it take over your’s.

there's a way to hack into the system.

Here’s the secret…
 
There isn't different dopamine spikes for:

• Fast Food

• Tv

• Social Media

• Drugs

It's all the same dopamine that stimulates the exact same spot in your brain.

Your brain can't tell the difference between one habit and another.

All it knows is that when your dopamine goes down, it wants to get it back.

(This is the part where lightbulbs should start going off in your brain)

Instant vs Delayed Gratification

Not all habits are created equally.

Most of the habits people have give them a quick hit of pleasure without having to work for it.

This is cheap dopamine.

Every time you indulge in things that give you instant gratification like:

• sleeping in

• watching one more youtube video before going to bed

• sitting on the couch vs going to the gym

your life gets slightly worse.

You can tell yourself its no big deal, that you can stop later. Because at the beginning you can!

You might even feel like you're getting away with it...

That's what's makes these habits so dangerous.

But like the famous quote says:

If you build up a habit of doing these things every single day, your life trajectory will go down.

Slowly at first, almost unnoticeably.

Then, you drop off a cliff.

This is what instant gratification does to you.

You rob your future happiness for cheap pleasures today.
But you can't out-run time, soon enough your past decisions catch up to you.

That’s why so many people don’t love their younger self.

After years of letting themselves slip, they look back, see how far they've fallen and think to themselves:

“I had a shit life”

Delayed gratification on the other hand, is the complete opposite.

It’s the difference between grabbing fast food because you’re “starving”, or taking the time to cook a meal that’s actually good for you.

These little improvements seem pointless at first.

But how many times have you looked back on your past and thought:

"If only I had done XYZ, I'd be so much further ahead right now" ?

You're not going to lose weight after eating one good meal.

But day after day, it begins to add up.

You start to see results.
You start to feel better.
You get some wind in your sail.
You want more, so you start doing more.

And one day, you look back to your amazement and see how far you’ve come.

This is how you become the person you're mean't to be.

That's why a dopamine detox is so important.

You need to starve your brain of cheap dopamine.

Then, while your brain is freaking out, you give it something else.

Something better.

You offer it delayed gratification to feel good again.

This is how you lock-in a better life for yourself.

The Good Life

Think of the scene from the movie Limitless. The one where Bradley Cooper comes home after taking the limitless pill for the first time.

Before this moment he was barely scraping by.

• He was a struggling writer who's girl just left him

• Living in a messy apartment

• Drifting through life

Then he takes the pill, and suddenly—he wakes up.

As he steps into his apartment, everything's different.
For the first time, he’s seeing beyond the mess. Beyond the rut he’s been stuck in.

And what's the first thing he does?

He cleans his apartment.
He takes control of his life and environment.

What should feel tedious or overwhelming somehow just flows.

He’s moving on autopilot.

There’s no hesitation, no dragging his feet—he’s moving fast, with a kind of effortless focus.

This is how it feels to get back to the real, unfiltered version of yourself.

Just like in the movie, you can clear out all the clutter, and cut through the noise and chaos in your life.

Imagine waking up every day with motivation on tap.

Your focus razor-sharp.

Things that once seemed impossible are laughable now.

From this place of clarity, it's easy to see how some people get ahead of everyone else.

It happens fast.

When you get rid of all the garbage, you create space for yourself to breathe again.
You unlock all the time and energy you need to do the things you’re meant to do.

A Narrow Window

Now, even after hearing this, some people will still come up with excuses for why this won't work.

To those people, I say this:

You're right, it won't work.
You're going to be stuck forever.

Feel better?

Subconsciously, your brain doesn't want to give up the things it's addicted to.

It tells you things like:

"But i'm comfortable where I am"
"This feels good though"
"Change is hard"
"I don't want to"

Your brain HATES spending mental calories to change.
Especially if it doesn't know for sure that it will work.

But you need to wake up.

You’re a living being, and like all living beings, we all die one day.

Look back at your life, back to when you were a little kid.

How fast did that go by?
Pretty quick right?
Have you ever noticed how life seems to go by faster as you get older?

Compared to the perception of time, the middle of your life is around 21 years old.

There are no do-overs.

Many religions talk about life after death, but no one knows for sure.

How many people died without having ever truly lived?

Your time is the most valuable thing you own.

Unlike money, it’s the one currency you can’t make more of.

Every hour you spend on mindless distractions is an hour less you get to spend doing the things you actually want to do.

How many times do you see people mindlessly sucked into their phones every day?

All that time they had to chase their dreams and live the life they wanted.

Gone.

Here’s something for you to think about:

In the future do you think it's going to get easier or harder to get your focus back?

Businesses, platforms, and content creators are getting better at stealing your attention.
What's easier, putting down a phone, or taking a chip out of your head?
(That day is coming wether you like it or not)

And the older you get, the harder it is to change.

Those big dreams you have?
You have a VERY SMALL window of opportunity to make them real.

Think of the old man who finally got his red corvette after a lifetime of work driving down the street.

Do you want that to be you?
Or do you want it NOW?
While you're still young enough to truly enjoy it.

Your Simple Framework to Get Started Right Now.

A dopamine detox is the best way to take control of your life.

Dopamine addiction is a biopsychosocial disease. (big word, I know)

that means you need to approach it from 3 different angles to make it work.

you need to focus on changing:

1. your body
2. your mind
3. and your environment.

Many people after hearing this think:

“No way, I need to tackle everything at once?! That’s way too hard”

But that’s just another thing the brain says to stay the same.

It’s actually a lot easier than you think.

Here's how you can make the process effortless:

The best way to start, is to make a grand gesture.

To prove to yourself, and others that you're serious.
Many people skip this step because they don't want to fail in public.

they don't want to look stupid.

But that is exactly why you should do this.
Shame is a powerful motivator.

And if you really want to change, it’s stupid not to use everything you have to get what you want.

Inside his book Deep Work, author Cal Newport mentions making a grand gesture.

A grand gesture is a serious dramatic action that shows your commitment to yourself.

Your grand gesture you're going to make is a 7-day dopamine detox.

A dopamine detox isn't something you do forever.
It’s not supposed to become your new lifestyle.
It's a fast, powerful, mental reset.

Just like when you’re house gets too dirty, it’s easiest to just clean it all up at once and get it back to how it used to be.

You're doing the same thing with your brain.

QUICK TIP:
Before you start this, you should spend 1-2 days going through your home to throw out anything that will get in your way. Your environment is the #1 factor that influences your behaviour.

Junk food
Video game consoles
Apps on your phone
Alcohol in the cupboards
Clear out everything you think will get in your way.

Only you know what your brain likes, so be honest with yourself and get rid of it.

After you make your surrounding better, here's the plan:

The 7-Day Dopamine Reset Protocol

1. Eliminate your exposure to cheap dopamine.

• no screens ( except for work )

• no processed food ( 1 ingredient foods only )

• no instant gratification ( drugs, alcohol, smoking )

2. Practice mindfulness and reflection

• Daily prayer or meditation ( 30 minutes )

• reframe your thoughts about cheap dopamine to negatives and pain, so you no longer want them.

• Give yourself grace when you slip, it's no big deal. Just get back up and keep going. We're all human.

3. Socialize more

• Spend more quality time with friends and family

• Sign up for group activities in your community

• Go outside more say hello to people passing by, ask the coffee barista how her day is going, etc.

Here's what to expect as you go through your dopamine detox:

• your life will begin to feel more smooth and calm. This might feel weird at first (maybe even boring) if you're used to the intense ups and downs that cheap dopamine gives you.

• It’s not going to be perfect, and that's okay. If you slip, don't beat yourself up, just get back up, keep going from where you left off, and forget it even happened, focus on what you want, not what you don’t want.

• You'll start feeling the results after about 3-5 days.

• You'll start to feel like the best version of yourself by the end of the week.

• When you’re done. this might seem unbelievable but you won't even like the things you used to crave anymore.

Now remember, a dopamine detox is more than getting rid of the things you don't want.
If you want lasting change, you need to add things into the empty space you carved out.

So what would you rather do instead?

Go try out a bunch of things, see what you like, and get addicted to something else.
Something positive that will feed your future self.

Best of luck.

- Daven

P.S. If you want the FREE Dopamine Detox Habit Tracker to reset your attention span fast without having to do it all yourself...
Get your Reset Your Dopamine Habit Tracker Here