Sometimes, even the thought of an upcoming task plunges us into depression. The path ahead seems long, boring, difficult, or even impossible. We feel down and experience stress even before we've started.
Stress has become a shadow for modern people. We try to avoid stress at all costs. But no matter where we go, the shadow follows us. The issue lies not in the path itself, but in our attitude towards it. After all, the same task can be stressful or exciting for different people.
Imagine you have a challenging business trip ahead. You haven't even gone to bed yet, but you're already worrying about the tough day ahead. And when you wake up early in the morning to catch your bus, you find yourself thinking about being in a foreign city in a few hours, meeting many people, and solving numerous problems. These thoughts truly make you feel awful. You think you might not cope with the task, and you're already mentally drafting a message to your boss about being sick and suggesting someone else go instead this time.
In reality, all you need to do at the beginning of the day, no matter how tough the day may be, is to brew a cup of tea or coffee and enjoy a delicious breakfast. The next step is to get ready, step outside, and take a deep breath of the fresh morning air (I like the morning air of city streets as much as fresh air). Then, you need to buy a ticket and wait for your bus. And there you are, on your way, comfortably seated, feeling satisfied that your little journey has already begun. It turns out, that by slightly changing your attitude, you can avoid suffering from the very start of the day.
We always strive to avoid stress. We want a comfortable life, not one filled with suffering. And we're right to do so because the stress hormone, cortisol, is bad for our health. Cortisol negatively affects the body. One of the reasons for its production is challenging life situations, which we call stressful.
It's not always possible to avoid stressful situations. And it shouldn't be necessary. What kind of life would that be? A constant indulgence in whims and weaknesses? Escaping stress and pursuing a dream are not always the same thing. There's no need to change your path at every minor inconvenience. It's better to change your attitude towards the challenges that arise along the way. If you stay true to your goals, your path will undoubtedly reward you. All that's left is to choose the right goals and determine the path to achieve them...
Rewards on the Path
How can the path reward you? Coffee and a delicious breakfast will give you a boost of energy. With the first sip of fresh air, you'll dive into the dynamic rhythm of a new day. Once you've taken your seat on the bus, you'll feel a sense of accomplishment. You feel a sense of correctness in every step you take. You've gotten on the bus and are one step closer to a new meeting. No, you've become several steps closer. And in every step, there's a reward. Every small step is a dose of dopamine, with which your path rewards you for following it.
Your brain will gladly release a dose of dopamine for each step and every completed task. Well, maybe not gladly; your brain will do it automatically, without much care. Such processes occur unconsciously. However the strength of the "automatic dopamine release program" lies in the fact that this process, like many other brain-controlled processes, doesn't require conscious intervention.
However, conscious choice is the key to adjusting the dopamine release program. Some people use alcohol or psychedelics to hack the dopamine release. But it's clear that taking psychedelics is the wrong choice. Along with hacking the dopamine release program, you'll break your brain and life.
For most people, the destructive impact of stimulants on the brain is obvious. But some are more susceptible, such as young people who don't yet understand the consequences or those who, at any cost, seek to "expand consciousness." Some entrepreneurs even proclaim stimulants as a new religion, forgetting that there's nothing new in it. And it's easy to guess who actually benefits from such a "religion."
It's much better to use a clear mind as the key to the dopamine program. You should determine for yourself the task for which you'll receive rewards. And it doesn't have to be something grand: make your bed, and there's your dopamine. As mentioned earlier, your brain doesn't care much what exactly you do; what matters is that you complete the task.
Forest and Leaf
Forest
When planning your path, you need to view the whole picture to understand what lies ahead. This allows you to prepare for the journey and decide whether you want to take this path.
Planning the next day, year, or decade is a habit of successful people. The forest's scale can be compared to a long-term goal plan, spanning several years. A leaf is every small task on the path to the final goal.
Leaf
Sometimes, on the path, it's worth stopping to look back and understand how much you've already overcome, and if necessary, reassess the past and adjust future steps. It's normal to adjust ways to achieve goals or even the goals themselves. The path taken enriches a person with new experiences and fosters change. Life itself can make adjustments to our plans, occasionally presenting unforeseen circumstances. Your roadmap won't always match reality perfectly, but that's no reason to stand still.
It's impossible to move forward while constantly thinking about the map. Moreover, reality often differs from our perceptions or plans. When we get too focused on the big picture, we stumble, fall, and can't notice the reality around us. We think about future difficulties and miss small rewards in the present, like the first breath of morning air, buying a ticket, or completing another project. Small segments of the path are small victories. They shouldn't be devalued.
All you need on the path is to take the next step. Through a conscious presence in each step, we can properly adjust our dopamine reward program and derive more enjoyment from life, from every moment. Of course, major achievements are the most desired goals. But the path to the grandest achievements form the small steps. Small steps and tasks fill every day. And each step taken gives strength for the next.