Have you ever wondered why it is that we
enjoy games so much? And have you ever wondered why it is that you dislike your job so much? What is the
difference between pressing buttons on an Xbox and pressing buttons on
keyboards?
The answer may surprise you: it actually
comes down to your effort and how much you care.
You care about games and you make the
effort because you want to get better at them and because there’s constant
variety and plot progression to keep things interesting. This makes you try
harder in order to progress and that in turn gives you the feeling of reward
that makes the gameplay satisfying.
From a neurochemical perspective, this
essentially boils down to the release of dopamine. Each time you attempt a
level or challenge, you first visualize it happening in your mind’s eye. When
you then attempt it for real and this then goes to plan just as you visualized
it, this will in turn result in you getting a release of the reward hormone
dopamine. This is actually highly addictive and that can be enough to make you
want to try again – which is why it’s so hard to put down that game of Angry
Birds! That release of dopamine and serotonin will also help to reinforce the
neural connections required to perform the task again. This strengthens your
likelihood of doing the same thing again in future with perfect technique and
generally improves your technique and ability.
When we don’t care about the outcome
though, we don’t have this trial/reward loop and as a result, it can end up
feeling like a dull slog. To change this then, all you need to do is to start
taking things more seriously and actually focus
on what you’re doing.
The Most Basic
Let’s say that you have to write something
by hand. This is a mundane task and something most of us won’t pay much
attention to.
So instead of simply doing it
absent-mindedly then, you should instead try to really focus on doing it as
perfectly as possible. Try to let the pen flow perfectly as you write and to
write with the most perfect handwriting you can muster. Visualize it happening
as you do.
Simply paying attention to your writing in
this way and making it perfect will then be enough to ensure that you are more
engaged and that you get the release of dopamine when it goes well. You’ve
turned the mundane into a game. Why? Because the brain loves learning and
improving.
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