👤 The Dark Side of Creativity

I recently burned through The Molecule of More in 2 days, and I can’t shut up about it.

It gives a framework to understand human behavior at the most fundamental level, and is an essential read to creators of any capacity — particularly those who are seeking balance and happiness while pursuing their craft. 

Key Takeaways

• Our brains have two circuits of neurotransmitters that, reductively, function as the gas and brakes — dopamine, and what the authors dub ‘Here & Now’ molecules or ‘H&N’ (oxytocin

• Dopaminergic activity is everything that’s not here: thoughts, ideas, mental models, the abstract, and planning/optimizing for the future

• H&N governs all the aspects of the present moment: things that are physically in front of us, that bring us intrinsic joy right now. This circuit is responsible for the feeling of contentment.

• Living our lives in the abstract, unreal, dopaminergic world of future possibilities comes at a cost, and that cost is happiness

• It takes balancing both dopamine and H&N to attain true happiness

• Even if you don’t care about happiness, H&N experiences are necessary for feeding your wellspring of creativity

Creativity as a Compulsion

Founders and creators are highly dopaminergic — we have a yearning for something more, for a future not yet actualized, and we use our imaginative abilities to take something abstract and bring it into existence.

But the flip side of this ability, if left unfettered, is that we don’t enjoy the things that happen as they happen.

Have you ever been eating a meal, and you’re fantasizing about or talking to the other person about another amazing meal?

Ever been to a city, and instead of enjoying the surroundings, you’re thinking about how you can live here, or talking about what other cities you want to visit?

This is excessive, compulsive dopaminergic activity.

This sort of compulsion prevents us from ever actually experiencing life, as it is right now.

At its core, it’s avoidance of the full spectrum messiness of the moment, because the future can always be as ideal as we can dream it to be.

The Presence Loophole

‘Be Present’ is the crux of most new age teachings. It’s been repeated to the point of cliche. When we deeply touch the present moment, we remember that it’s a universal truth — a north star to return to.

The slippery way out of ‘Be Present’ that I’ve run into is this thought -

It’s okay that I’m not being fully present right now, I’m:
a) still being 'mindful'
b) being productive with my thoughts — solving problems + ideating

This sneaky justification is powerful — and it prevents us from ever being fully engaged with life.

This explanation of what’s at play here — a compulsion towards living in the dopaminergic abstract world — helped me realize this was a loophole I was exploiting.

This loophole had made me highly productive, but left me restless and not fully engaged with or satisfied with life.

Crafts & Handworking

• Using your hands to create things balances both circuits — you’re taking an abstract plan (dopamine) and using your hands to bring it into existence (H&N)

• Cooking, gardening, sports, knitting, painting, decorating, woodworking, pottery are all examples, drawing, playing music

Work With Friends

Add social connection (H&N) to your dopaminergic activities of working + creating

• Utilize a buddy system for coworking

• Start a side project or business with someone you enjoy

In the book, they explain a study in which construction workers were shown to be the happiest profession.

Why? They’re planning (dopamine), doing purposeful work (dopamine), working socially (H&N), working with their hands (H&N).

It’s a full balance.

Seated Meditation + Present Moment Awareness

• After some years of leaning into other centering modalities, I’m returning to a daily practice of seated meditation

• With the context of why, it feels so much more pertinent to focus on. Your life will never truly be satisfying and joyful unless you apply presence to it, as much as possible.

• We intuitively know the feeling of seeping in experience. Try to subjectively adjust your state of being as much as possible to optimize for this

Nature Walks

Nature is infinitely complex, novel, and stimulating.

If we can walk in Nature (without our phones, messaging, taking photos, or ideating) we can stimulate both circuits

Mastery of Craft

Achieving mastery over something activates both systems; dopamine is happy to have achieved, and H&N enjoys the experience itself of performing the craft.

Supplements

• I've been using 4 supplements to reduce dopaminergic activity & improve my H&N.

  • GABA + L-Theanine, Nano CBD, and Kanna (plant-based natural SSRI)

Mindful Eating

• Close your eyes and savor delicious food, snacks, beverages as frequently as possible

• This turns a dopaminergic activity (consumption/survival) into a H&N one (enjoyment)

Reduce Cannabis

• Can lead to dopaminergic states of reality — visioning the future. Especially Sativa.