root `index` legacy
Motivation The driving force behind human actions. Discussing my opinion on motivation, from brain chemistry all the way to recommendations based on my personal experience. `2021-11-18` Yesterday, I received the following message from a fellow Computer Science student at uOttawa: I'm doing a personal project where I gather advice and insight from different innovators. So if you have time, I wanted to ask: how do you stay motivated (what drives you), and what is your advice to other students? As it turns out, I had never spent time thinking about this matter. After having gotten lost in my thoughts for the last few hours, I believe I found the answer. I do acknowledge it is quite ironic, but here goes: Learn to be bored. Let me explain further. Why Are You Not Motivated? I believe the human brain's mesolimbic pathway, also known as its reward pathway, has not had enough time to adapt to the world we currently live in. Even though this word is starting to sound more and more like a cliché, overstimulation seems to be the main reason behind the lack of motivation I observed in my peers. Dopamine is commonly known as the motivation drug, or as the feel-good hormone. Essentially, it is the chemical that is released when one's brain is expecting a reward. Even though our brains are constantly optimizing for its release, tolerance to dopamine can be developed; this is a major problem. Whereas everyday activities such as social interactions and eating a good meal still release the same amount of dopamine as they did millions of years ago, the dopamine baseline — its default level — in people's brains has increased drastically in the last few decades through our culture. Consequently, I believe people are less motivated because they have gotten used to higher levels of dopamine in their everyday lives. Getting productive work done or spending hours talking with a friend just doesn't feel as good as it used to. What About Me? I was lucky. Somehow, that's the truth. All the stars just happened to be aligned. I can't explain why, but I don't enjoy low-effort habits that usually release an excess of dopamine. These include: Drinking coffee — I deliberately chose not to consume caffeine Drinking alcohol — I just can't seem to understand the point of it Browsing social media — I find it's such a waste of my time Eating junk food — Eating healthy is easier than I thought Listening to music — It doesn't really improve my ability to focus Playing video games — I rarely ever spend the time to play games I hadn't realized that before, but I seem to unconsciously lower my dopamine baseline by not engaging in those types of highly stimulating, low-effort behaviors. And, as explained in the previous section, I believe that a lower dopamine baseline directly correlates with higher levels of motivation and focus. My Recommendations I would argue that the best way to stay motivated long-term and to regain the ability to focus for extended periods of time is to decrease the amount of artificial stimulation in your life. However, it is crucial to understand that lowering your dopamine baseline can't just be a mindless one-week challenge. If you really want to experience its benefits, it has to be a life-long commitment. Try to increase the effort-to-dopamine ratio for the bullet points listed above. Below are a few concrete ideas you could start off with. Instead of binge-watching Netflix for hours, watch your favorite show with a friend in that new language you've been learning. Instead of mindlessly scrolling through social media, find a post that you like and send a direct message to its author to have a meaningful conversation with them. Increase friction for the behaviors you want to put an end to: store your apocalyptic-sized treat supply on a tall shelf and force yourself to reinstall the TikTok app every time you want to use it. When waiting in line, talk to people or embrace boredom instead of going on your phone to check what the whole planet has been up to lately. If you drink coffee every morning, try to cut the amount of caffeine you consume. Reduce your consumption of alcohol, and avoid nicotine and other psychoactive drugs at all costs. Final Thoughts I've seen many people use artificial sources of motivation such as the Pomodoro technique or giving themselves treats after having been productive. However, I seek motivation in a completely different manner: I eliminate all unnecessary stimuli from my life, allowing me to feel naturally motivated to work on tasks that would otherwise feel dull. This post discussed my opinion on motivation. With that said, committing to this lifestyle without a thorough understanding of what it implies isn't a great idea. Conduct your own research, and make the decisions you believe are best for you.
© 2025 Emilien Breton `legacy/Motivation/index.md`

Motivation

The driving force behind human actions. Discussing my opinion on motivation, from brain chemistry all the way to recommendations based on my personal experience. 2021-11-18

Yesterday, I received the following message from a fellow Computer Science student at uOttawa:

I'm doing a personal project where I gather advice and insight from different innovators. So if you have time, I wanted to ask: how do you stay motivated (what drives you), and what is your advice to other students?

As it turns out, I had never spent time thinking about this matter. After having gotten lost in my thoughts for the last few hours, I believe I found the answer. I do acknowledge it is quite ironic, but here goes:

Learn to be bored.

Let me explain further.

Why Are You Not Motivated?

I believe the human brain's mesolimbic pathway, also known as its reward pathway, has not had enough time to adapt to the world we currently live in. Even though this word is starting to sound more and more like a cliché, overstimulation seems to be the main reason behind the lack of motivation I observed in my peers.

Dopamine is commonly known as the motivation drug, or as the feel-good hormone. Essentially, it is the chemical that is released when one's brain is expecting a reward. Even though our brains are constantly optimizing for its release, tolerance to dopamine can be developed; this is a major problem. Whereas everyday activities such as social interactions and eating a good meal still release the same amount of dopamine as they did millions of years ago, the dopamine baseline — its default level — in people's brains has increased drastically in the last few decades through our culture.

Consequently, I believe people are less motivated because they have gotten used to higher levels of dopamine in their everyday lives. Getting productive work done or spending hours talking with a friend just doesn't feel as good as it used to.

What About Me?

I was lucky.

Somehow, that's the truth. All the stars just happened to be aligned. I can't explain why, but I don't enjoy low-effort habits that usually release an excess of dopamine. These include:

Drinking coffee — I deliberately chose not to consume caffeine
Drinking alcohol — I just can't seem to understand the point of it
Browsing social media — I find it's such a waste of my time
Eating junk food — Eating healthy is easier than I thought
Listening to music — It doesn't really improve my ability to focus
Playing video games — I rarely ever spend the time to play games

I hadn't realized that before, but I seem to unconsciously lower my dopamine baseline by not engaging in those types of highly stimulating, low-effort behaviors. And, as explained in the previous section, I believe that a lower dopamine baseline directly correlates with higher levels of motivation and focus.

My Recommendations

I would argue that the best way to stay motivated long-term and to regain the ability to focus for extended periods of time is to decrease the amount of artificial stimulation in your life.

However, it is crucial to understand that lowering your dopamine baseline can't just be a mindless one-week challenge. If you really want to experience its benefits, it has to be a life-long commitment. Try to increase the effort-to-dopamine ratio for the bullet points listed above. Below are a few concrete ideas you could start off with.

Instead of binge-watching Netflix for hours, watch your favorite show with a friend in that new language you've been learning.
Instead of mindlessly scrolling through social media, find a post that you like and send a direct message to its author to have a meaningful conversation with them.
Increase friction for the behaviors you want to put an end to: store your apocalyptic-sized treat supply on a tall shelf and force yourself to reinstall the TikTok app every time you want to use it.
When waiting in line, talk to people or embrace boredom instead of going on your phone to check what the whole planet has been up to lately.
If you drink coffee every morning, try to cut the amount of caffeine you consume. Reduce your consumption of alcohol, and avoid nicotine and other psychoactive drugs at all costs.

Final Thoughts

I've seen many people use artificial sources of motivation such as the Pomodoro technique or giving themselves treats after having been productive. However, I seek motivation in a completely different manner: I eliminate all unnecessary stimuli from my life, allowing me to feel naturally motivated to work on tasks that would otherwise feel dull.

This post discussed my opinion on motivation. With that said, committing to this lifestyle without a thorough understanding of what it implies isn't a great idea. Conduct your own research, and make the decisions you believe are best for you.