Why the Dopamine Conversation is Overrated and What You Should Focus On Instead
- Brainz Magazine
- 15 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Ethan Hutcheson is a rising influence in the fitness and neuroscience space, fusing brain science with body training to create a niche and effective performance system.
You don’t need another list of ways your phone is killing your brain – you need a reason to wake up in the morning. We’ve all heard the conversations, listened to the podcasts, and read the articles saying we’re addicted to our phones and there’s no way out. Dopamine is the bad guy, and if it’s not, we’re just getting “bad dopamine” and not getting “good dopamine,” referring to getting out in nature, being in the sunshine, creating a healthy social environment, etc. Just writing about this makes my blood boil with passion and purpose. Let me explain...
As a fitness and neuroscience coach, I understand the ins and outs of the brain’s systems for energy and reward. Every human has something in common: the ability to create habits. Habits are essentially dopamine loops. According to habit expert James Clear, author of the award-winning title Atomic Habits, “A habit is a behavior that has been repeated enough times to become automatic.” Dopamine is the hard-wired chemical reward for completing a task. But why is this important? This leads me to a significant question:
Do you have a dopamine problem, or do you have a purpose problem?
Understanding your hardware is key
First of all, I want to clarify what dopamine is. It is not a pleasure drug that you can inadvertently get addicted to by looking at a screen for more than 30 minutes a day. Dopamine, a neurotransmitter chemically produced in the brain from the amino acid tyrosine (a conditionally essential amino acid in specific cases but typically nonessential), is the primary neurotransmitter that acts as a motivational driver.
Have you ever seen your bank account drop a little too low after a night of late-night Amazon shopping? If you haven’t, I envy your discipline. But seeing your bank account more empty than usual provides you a purpose or a motivation for effort or change. The extra hours at work, the weekend DoorDashing, and frugal saving over the next several months are actions from the brain telling you, “Oh boy, spending that money was a rush! But getting that bank account number up is going to feel so good, so keep doing what you’re doing until that bank account’s back to normal. That’ll be even better!” The anticipation of saving this money and the reward for doing so is dopamine's role in our lives. Our habits and actions are driven by the direction of the neurochemical that influences effort-based decision-making.
Small loops, big traps
Let’s look at some of Earth’s natural geography to explain how dopamine and habits can swirling pools of water that can sometimes bring in debris from the flowing river. Have you ever seen all the sticks, moss, and that weird foamy stuff swirling around in there? Gross, right? Well, that’s what’s happening in your brain when you feel like you aren’t progressing towards anything.
The flowing river represents forward motion – goals, growth, and direction. The junk in the eddy? That’s an accumulation of unchallenged decisions: late-night scrolling, skipping the gym (again), numbing out (talk to a therapist, for goodness' sake). Each time you dip back into that swirl, dopamine says, “Good job! You stayed safe. You stayed the same.”
Bad habits get rewarded, too. Ouch, right?
Dopamine isn’t moral. It’s just chemistry. Okay, I feel a little better now.
So… what do I do about my eddies?
Let’s agree here and now that your personal eddies are not evil. They do not hold any moral weight, nor does a biochemical reaction in your brain. Eddies can temporarily relieve a raging river's forward movement, which is sometimes essential.
My advice? Find your purpose by answering some of my favorite questions I ask my clients:
What is it you really, really want? Do you really want to run that marathon, or do you just want to feel good running?
What are you willing to do? If your life were on the line to do what you wanted, would you do it? Would you believe that it’s worth it?
Zoom out: What’s the general feeling you want more of in life? Think broadly – peace, happiness, vitality. For example, do you want to feel happy if you don’t feel happy or wouldn’t describe yourself as such? At peace? Healthy? Alive?
Zoom in: What will make you feel that way? If you want to feel happy, what is one thing that comes to your mind that would truly make you feel that way?
Here’s the best and scariest part. Get ridiculously good at just 1 or 2 easy rituals in your routine every day, at the same time of day, in the same place. It may be a lot to demand from some, but there are some rituals that you can do to establish some continuity across your life.
Pick one thing. Do it daily; make it sacred. That is the key to rewiring your purpose.
Oh, what’s a ritual, you ask? It’s brushing your teeth every morning to keep them clean. It’s taking a daily morning and/or nighttime shower to clean your body, wake yourself up, or relax your muscles to sleep easier at night. It’s drinking a shake with a scoop of protein powder with your first and last meals of the day to supplement your protein intake. These rituals should be easy to do once. The challenge and reward will come when you can do it 3G5 days in a row.
If you're goals or need a fresh perspective on your life, dopamine isn’t the problem. It’s your purpose. You need to revisit your sense of purpose in your life, and those questions can help you get started.
Read more from Ethan Hutcheson
Ethan Hutcheson, Neuroscience and Fitness Coach
Ethan Hutcheson is a performance coach and thought leader at the intersection of fitness and neuroscience. With a background in both neuroscience and personal training, Ethan helps individuals rewire their psychology while optimizing their physical health. His unique approach blends evidence-based brain practices with results-driven fitness strategies, leading to transformative, purposeful outcomes. Ethan’s work has gained recognition for bridging the gap between mind and body in a practical, accessible way. As a contributor to BRAINZ Magazine, he shares insights designed to empower others with the tools to train smarter, think clearly, and live stronger.
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