 |
|
|
|||||
Michael Long is not the typical neuroscience guy. He was trained as a physicist, but is primarily a writer. He coauthored the international bestseller The Molecule of More. As a speechwriter, he has written for members of Congress, cabinet secretaries, presidential candidates, and Fortune 10 CEOs. His screenplays have been performed on most New York stages. He teaches writing at Georgetown University. Whats the big idea? Dopamine is to blame for a lot of your misery. It compels us to endlessly chase more, better, and greatereven when our dreams have come true. Thanks to dopamine, we often feel restless and hopeless. So no, maybe its not quite accurate to call it the happiness molecule, but it has gifted humans some amazing powers. Dopamine is the source of imagination, creativity, and ingenuity. There are practical ways to harness the strengths of our dopamine drives while protecting and nurturing a life of consistent joy. Below, Michael shares five key insights from his new book, Taming the Molecule of More: A Step-by-Step Guide to Make Dopamine Work for You. Listen to the audio versionread by Michael himselfin the Next Big Idea App. 1. Dopamine is not the brain chemical that makes you happy. Dopamine makes you curious and imaginative. It can even make you successful, but a lot of times it just makes you miserable. Thats because dopamine motivates you to chase every new possibility, even if you already have everything you want. It turns out that brain evolution hasnt caught up with the evolution of the world. For early humans, dopamine ensured our survival by alerting us to anything new or unusual. In a world with danger around every corner and resources hard to acquire, we needed an early warning system to motivate us even more. Dopamine made us believe that once we got the thing we were chasing, wed be safer, happier, or more satisfied. That served humans well, until it didnt. Now that weve tamed the world, we dont need to explore every new thing, but dopamine is still on duty, and it works way out of proportion to the needs of the modern world. Since self-discipline has a short shelf life, I share proven techniques that dont rely on willpower alone. 2. Dopamine often promises more than reality can deliver. When we have problems obsessing with social media or the news, or when were doing excessive shopping, we feel edgy and restless. This is because dopamine floods us with anticipation and urgency. We desperately scroll for the next hit, searching for the latest story or watching the porch for that next Amazon package. As this anticipation becomes a normal way of living, the rest of life starts to feel dull and flat. That restarts the cycle of chasing what we think will make us happy. Then we get it, and when it doesnt make us happy, we experience a letdown, and that makes us restless all over again. Heres how that works for love and romance. When we go on date after date and cant find the right person, or a long-term relationship gets stale, we start to feel hopeless. The dopamine chase has so raised our expectations about reality that we no longer enjoy the ordinary. Now were expecting some perfect partner, and we wont find them because they dont exist. Fight back with three strategies: Rewire your habits to ditch the chase. Redirect your focus to the here and now. Rebuild meaning so life feels more like it matters. I describe specific ways to do this through simple planning, relying more on friendships, and doing a particular kind of personal assessment. And theres even a little technology involved that you wouldnt expect. 3. Dopamine is the source of imagination. The dopamine system has three circuits. The first has only a little to do with behavior and feeling, so well set that one aside. The second circuit (that early warning system) is called the desire dopamine system because it plays on our desires. The third system is very different. Its called the control system, and it gives us an ability straight out of science fiction: mental time travel. You can create in your mind any possible future in as much detail as you like and investigate the results without lifting a finger. We do this all the time without realizing thats what it is. Little things like figuring out where to go for lunch: We factor in traffic, how long well have to wait for a table and think over the menu, and game it all out to decide where to go. But this system also lets us imagine far more consequential mental time travel, figuring out the best way to build a building, design an engine, or travel to the moon. Dopamine really is the source of creativity and analytical power that allows us to create the future. The dopamine control circuit lets us think in abstractions and play out various plans using only our minds. That means not only can we imagine a particular future, but we can also imagine entire abstract disciplines, come to understand them, and make use of them in the real world based on what we thought about. Fields like chemistry, quantum mechanics, and number theory exist because of controlled dopamine. Dopamine really is the source of creativity and analytical power that allows us to create the future. Dopamine brings a lot of dissatisfaction to the modern world, but we wouldnt have the modern world without dopamine. 4. Youre missing out on the little things. When my best friend died at age 39, the speaker at his funeral said, You may not remember much of what you did with Kent, but its okay, because it happened. I did not know what that could mean, but years later, while writing this book, I got it. We dont live life just to look back on it. The here and now ought to be fun. You may not remember it all, but while its happening, enjoy it. That requires fighting back against dopamine because its always saying: Never mind whats in front of you; think about what might be. When Warren Zevon was at the end of his life, David Letterman asked him what hed learned. Warren said, Enjoy every sandwich. 5. A satisfying life requires meaning, and theres a practical way to find it. Even if you fix every dopamine-driven problem in your life, you may still feel like something is missing. To find a satisfying balance between working for the future and enjoying the here and now, we must choose a meaning for life and work toward it as we go. If youre making life better for others with something you do well and enjoy, the days feel brighter and life acquires purpose. Is it possible to live in the moment, anticipate the future, and have it add up to something? The psychiatrist Viktor Frankl said we need to look beyond ourelves, because thats where a sense of purpose begins. Aristotle gave us a simple formula for taking pleasure in the present, finding a healthy anticipation for the future, and creating meaning. He said its found where three things intersect: what we like to do, what were good at, and what builds up the world beyond ourselves. Things like working for justice, making good use of knowledge, or simply living a life of kindness and grace. What you do with your life doesnt have to set off fireworks, and you dont have to make history. You can be a plumber, a mail carrier, or an accountant. Im a writer. I like what I do. I seem to be pretty good at it, and it helps people. The same can be true if you repair the highway, fix cars, or serve lunch in a school cafeteria. If youre making life better for others with something you do well and enjoy, the days feel brighter and life acquires purpose. Life needs meaning, and thats the last piece of the puzzle in dealing with dopamine and taming the molecule of more. This article originally appeared in Next Big Idea Club magazine and is reprinted with permission.
Category:
E-Commerce
Layoffs. Corporate restructuring. Leadership changes. New market strategy. Chances are that youll go through at least one significant company upheaval in your career (if not more than one). Employees are expected to adapt quickly, often with little support. While you may not be able to prevent internal changes, you can be preparedand protect yourself. Get clarification on your job responsibilities {"blockType":"creator-network-promo","data":{"mediaUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/04\/workbetter-logo.png","headline":"Work Better","description":"Thoughts on the future of work, career pivots, and why work shouldn't suck, by Anna Burgess Yang. To learn more visit workbetter.media.","substackDomain":"https:\/\/www.workbetter.media","colorTheme":"blue","redirectUrl":""}} One of the biggest impacts on your day-to-day might be changes in your job responsibilities. As soon as possible, youll want to discuss any changes with your boss. Ask directly, Do I have any new responsibilities? and How will my performance be evaluated now? Get the information in writing, if you can, even if its just a follow-up email you send after a discussion with your boss that says: Based on our conversation, I understand that my role now includes X, Y, and Z. You dont want responsibility changes to be overlooked or misunderstood, and you dont want the changes to negatively impact promotions or future raises simply because no one fully understands your role. Provide regular updates to your boss about how youre handling your new responsibilities, and share any wins. Additionally, make sure your boss is aware of any concerns you may have. For example, you may not have been given proper training to make you successful with your new responsibilities. If something is unclear, raising concerns early shows you want to ensure youre meeting expectations. Know your boundaries Do more with less has become the default expectation. You might quickly find yourself overwhelmed if youre working with a smaller team, a smaller budget, or a major strategy pivot. Its much harder to set boundaries if you accept additional work initially and then try to walk it back later. When faced with upheaval and asked to do more, you can say, Yes, I can take this on. Which of my other responsibilities should I de-prioritize? You can also mentally set a boundary around the number of hours youre willing to work. If youre asked to go above that, its time to push back. You could say, Im at capacity this week. Can this wait until next week? Remember that loyalty is often not reciprocal Significant changes need clear direction. A companys leadership team should communicate why the changes were necessary and how the company expects to benefit. If that doesnt happen, its a red flag. The changes might result in more problemsor cant save the company from a downward spiral. Keep your guard up. Look for signs that the company might be in deeper trouble, such as undergoing frequent leadership turnover, having an unclear strategy, or experiencing a lack of communication. Change is hard and takes time to have an impact. But if it feels like things arent going well, keep your résumé updated and your LinkedIn profile polished. Make sure you have an exit plan, even if youre not ready to leave immediately. The company will always protect its interests first. You should do the same. {"blockType":"creator-network-promo","data":{"mediaUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/04\/workbetter-logo.png","headline":"Work Better","description":"Thoughts on the future of work, career pivots, and why work shouldn't suck, by Anna Burgess Yang. To learn more visit workbetter.media.","substackDomain":"https:\/\/www.workbetter.media","colorTheme":"blue","redirectUrl":""}}
Category:
E-Commerce
When we talk about decarbonizing industries, footwear doesnt often steal the spotlight. Yet behind every pair of sneakers or boots is a complex web of supply chains, raw materials, energy consumption, and logistics. While our shoes leave physical footprints, they also leave behind a much larger, often invisible carbon and waste footprint. The footwear industry is estimated to be responsible for hundreds of millions of metric tons of COe emissions each yearthats more than the emissions of some entire countries. And its a sector undergoing massive transformation, fueled by a perfect storm of shifting regulation, growing consumer demand for transparency, and the urgent need to build climate resilience into business models. Whats exciting is that were finally starting to see momentum from both sides of the decarbonization equation: radical innovation and operational rigor. The innovation track: Rethink how shoes are made Innovation in footwear manufacturing has typically been focused on performance and aesthetics alone, but thats evolving. Today, some of the most forward-thinking brands are applying that same creative energy to impact, tackling not just how to build better shoes for us but also how to build them better for the planet. A powerful example of this is On. The brands new LightSpray technology uses a world-first process that eliminates the traditional cut-and-sew approach to constructing shoe uppers. It reduces waste, energy, and materials, and, crucially, carbon. Using prospective life cycle assessment (LCA)a highly scientific process that calculates the future environmental impact of a product or technology (based on projected data and scenarios)it was found that LightSpray has the potential to reduce production emissions by about 75% compared to traditional techniques. So, what can we learn? This breakthrough matters not just for the brand itself, but for the entire industry. Globally, around 23.9 billion pairs of shoes are produced each year, and the majority of them still rely on traditional methods that contribute both to emissions and waste throughout the supply chain. Beyond footwear, whats most notable isnt just the numberits the willingness to build sustainability into innovation at the R&D phase, not as a post-launch add-on. Thats a shift in mindset that every industry can learn from. The infrastructure track: Build out data and processes that make change possible While innovation grabs headlines, what often moves the needle at scale is what happens behind the scenes. Infrastructure supports measurement, monitoring, and decision making. In footwear, where the indirect Scope 3 emissions coming from a companys entire supply chain typically account for up to 90% of total footprint, the need for accurate, granular data is critical. Thats where brands like Axel Arigato are leading: not by launching one breakthrough product, but by laying the groundwork to reduce emissions across their entire value chain. Axel Arigato recently calculated its full corporate carbon footprint in addition to LCAs for over 270 of its products. This gives the brand visibility to identify impact hotspots and tools to make science-backed reductionsproduct by product, shipment by shipment, and decision by decision. The work enabled the brand to dive deep into understanding the impact of its products and business to a level of detail they have never gone into before. We have always strived to produce products that are less impactful on the environment, and we can now confidently measure this and communicate about it to our consumers, says Albin Johansson, CEO of Axel Arigato. This kind of backbone work isnt all that flashy, but it is essential. Having a baseline understanding of the status quo enables all kinds of companies to move from ambition to action, and to do so in a way thats resilient to legal requirements like reporting, investor pressure, and consumers shifting their expectations. It can even help provide the confidence to communicate impact publicly, in a world where green claims are heavily scrutinized Taking a step beyond footwear The race to decarbonize isnt exclusive to footwear or the wider fashion industry. But it does cast a revealing lens thanks to its material-intensive, design-driven, and deeply globalized nature. With footwear revenue projected to surpass $472 billion by 2028 and sustainable footwear alone expected to nearly double to $18.25 billion by 2034, the stakesand opportunitieshave never been higher. Crucially, the industry is showing us what it looks like when innovation and infrastructure finally work together. Because, with net zero targets and legal requirements looming, one without the other isnt enough anymore. A revolutionary new process cant scale responsibly without solid measurement and validation. Just like a robust data system doesnt drive progress unless its tied to product and design decisions. The future depends on both, and the businesses that are most future-proof are the ones willing to run down this dual track. So, whether youre in footwear or finance, the lesson here is clear: Lower impact is not about sticking to one strategy for reduction. Its a system-wide transformation that calls for imagination, precision, and bold partnership. Now, progress increasingly means fewer promises and more proof. And the sooner this double-edged strategy is scaled across industries, the better for our planet. Namrata Sandhu is founder and CEO of Vaayu.
Category:
E-Commerce
All news |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||