Dopamine: the chemical of motivation & pursuit

Before we jump into exploring Dopamine… I want to let you in on a couple of experiments I’m running:

• More video messages. (Show the human behind the words.)

• Hyper-practical tools. (Closing the gap between knowing and doing.)

• Smarter newsletter growth. (Finding ways to spread this newsletter that feel good and offer tons of value to you → keep scrolling!)

Let’s get into it. Dopamine: what do we need to know?

There’s a molecule in your brain and body that, when released, tends to make you look for things outside of yourself—pursue something you don’t yet have. 

That’s dopamine.

It’s the molecule of motivation, pursuit and desire.

In early environments, food, shelter, mates, and safety were not guaranteed. Humans had to move toward them—often across long distances and in dangerous circumstances.

And so dopamine evolved to signal:

“That thing over there could help you survive. Go get it.”

It’s the chemical of forward action.

When dopamine rises, it energizes your system:

• Increases willingness to put in effort

• Boosts focus on potential rewards

• Strengthens memory around success and learning

• Suppresses distractions and redirects attention toward the goal

And so this is key to understand:

Dopamine doesn’t reward having the thing. It rewards pursuing the thing.

That’s why:

• You can feel most alive when you're working toward something, not just when you achieve it

• Motivation dips when there’s no challenge, novelty, or uncertainty

• Cheap dopamine hits (scrolling, sugar, binge-watching) trick your brain into feeling “accomplished” without real effort—and leave you feeling empty.

In short, dopamine is what helped our ancestors leave the cave, track an animal for miles, and persist in building fire—even when it was hard.

And in the modern world?

It’s the same chemical that helps you write the first sentence, take the first step, or believe that your effort matters.

Here’s what dopamine feels like in your system:

High Dopamine (or healthy tone):

• You feel excited, curious, pulled toward your goals

• You enjoy the process, not just the outcome

• Thoughts are energized, hopeful, future-focused

Low Dopamine:

• You feel flat, apathetic, or unmotivated

• Struggle to initiate tasks—even ones you care about

• Crave “easy wins” (scrolling, snacks, busywork)

In this email, we’ll explore three ways to work with dopamine:

• 📈 Baseline: How to build a healthy long-term foundation

• 🧰 Directed: How to boost dopamine in the moment (in a healthy way!)

• 👩‍💻 Task-Oriented: How to shape your workflow to support motivation

P.S. One important caveat: all of this is a necessary simplification of a very complex system. Dopamine plays many roles in the brain, from motor control to habit learning to emotional regulation. Here, we’re focusing on the motivation + pursuit angle, because that’s what matters most for focus, resilience, and creative energy.

📈 Baseline: Building Long-Term Dopamine Resilience

Dopamine isn’t just something you spike in the moment—it has a baseline rhythm that underlies your day-to-day motivation.

For example, dopamine is what drives us to do every day tasks like getting out of bed, making coffee, or brushing our teeth.

Without dopamine in our system, then, we’d quite literally do nothing.

(Which is why there’s no such thing as a “dopamine detox”!! Dopamine is not a toxin. You need it in your system. You just want to learn how to manage it. I know, I’m being pedantic, but it annoys me when I see this, hehe)

In a healthy state, dopamine follows a natural 24-hour rhythm:

• Morning: High levels help you wake up, focus, and get moving.

• Evening: Levels drop, helping you wind down—unless overstimulation keeps them spiking.

If your baseline dopamine is weak, you’ll feel flat, unmotivated, and stuck in low-energy habits.

BUT this is the beauty of your biology: you can influence your baseline with a few daily practices:

These aren’t hacks. They’re the foundation. Build this, and you won’t have to fight for motivation—it will be there.

🧰 Directed: Tools to Increase Dopamine in the Moment

Sometimes, you need a boost. Whether you’re facing a tough project or an energy slump, here are four real-time tools to create a healthy dopamine spike:

👩‍💻 Task-Oriented: Designing for Dopamine

How you structure your work and environment shapes your motivation.

Here are four strategies that reinforce effort, track progress, and give your brain the reward signals it needs to stay motivated.

To close the gap between information <> implementation…

I’ve put together a Dopamine Experimentation Toolkit—a simple, structured guide to making dopamine work for you, not against you.

Inside, you’ll get:

• A guided breathing reset recording (for an instant dopamine boost) - just 5 mins

• My favorite NSDR session (my go-to for powering through afternoon slumps)

• A step-by-step guide to designing your work for maximum motivation

• And muuuuch more

To get access, you’ve got two options—pick whichever feels good:

Option 1️⃣ Connect + like + comment on LinkedIn

• Like this LinkedIn post

• Comment “experiment”

• Send me a connection request if we aren’t already connected

I’ll send you the toolkit directly.

Option 2️⃣ Refer Stretch to someone in your life

Know someone who could use a healthy boost of motivation? Send them this newsletter using your referral link below.

You can use this simple, no-pressure blurb if you’d like, just don’t forget to add your unique referral link (see below - click on the big yellow button or copy paste the link below)

Once they subscribe, you’ll get an email from me with the toolkit.

Next week: Epinephrine—the chemical of drive & energy!

Could use some 1:1 help? Learn more about coaching here → https://nspotential.com