Binge-watching TV is fun. At least, it is in the moment. So is playing video games, scrolling through TikTok, going to a theme park, and eating fried chicken. We like to eat fried chicken because it gives us dopamine. Fried Chicken Dopamine, to be exact. 

Fried Chicken Dopamine spikes quickly and then there’s a crash. It’s like when you eat a sugary donut; you get that burst of sugar-fueled energy and excitement, and then 30 minutes later you feel lethargic and sapped. Fried Chicken Dopamine always works like that. Quick spikes, flames out, doesn’t stay with you. Yeah, it’s definitely dopamine. But it’s not the only kind of dopamine. 

Painting a picture is difficult. You have to try to mix the colors correctly. You need to learn how to stroke the paintbrush just right. You mess up. You have to fix your mess-up. You try, and try again. It’s effort. But at the end, you have a painting that you made. You put effort into something, something that’s not trivial. You have the end result to show for it. You feel good about what you’ve accomplished. That gives you dopamine. Grilled Chicken Dopamine, to be exact. 

Grilled Chicken Dopamine is a slow burn. It doesn’t come to you in a rush all at once in the beginning. It builds slowly over time. It’s like when you’ve mowed half of the yard. You feel good because you’re moving your body. There’s a nice breeze outside. You look at the half of the yard that you’ve mowed already and it looks good. You’re happy with it, so you decide to keep going. You’re looking forward to the whole yard looking like that. 

Grilled Chicken Dopamine doesn’t come with a crash afterward. To the contrary - after you’ve built up the slow burn of Grilled Chicken Dopamine, it stays with you. You feel good about that picture you painted for the rest of the day. 

We all need a certain amount of dopamine in our lives to be happy. The key is to understand how you’re getting your dopamine. Pay attention to spikes, slow burns, crashes, and lasting happiness. Go Grilled, most of the time. Keep your Fried to a reasonable limit. Monitor it, take note, tweak things. Manage it. You’ll be all the happier if you do.