Variety is the spice of life.  It’s cliché and it’s also neuroscience.  Dopamine is the key to motivation and we produce dopamine when we try new stuff and create things.   Experimenting with new recipes infuses novelty and creativity into my days off and along with giving myself a little dose of dopamine.  More on dopamine later…

The post for day #7 of the Blog Rock Star Challenge is short-and-sweet….  One of the things I love to do when I have time off is cook.  This is a picture of one of my favorite finds; it is the real meal, right before we ate this delicious breakfast salad for dinner.

For my vegetarian friends it’s yummy even if you leave out the bacon.  For my gluten-free friends it is wonderful without the croutons.  Who could ask for more?

True to my French heritage, here is the recipe – Frisee aux Lardons.

Now back to dopamine….

Success requires motivation.  And that means influencing the brain chemicals that create our thoughts, feelings and ultimately actions.  Dopamine is one of those neurochemicals.  It’s the brain’s motivation/reward messaging system.  It fuels ambition and perseverance in the face of challenge.  In this way, dopamine helps us stay motivated to achieve our goals.

We produce dopamine when we try new stuff, create things and feel rewarded.  It is responsible for our sense of satisfaction and fulfillment when we complete a project, receive recognition or scratch something off of our to-do-list.

This is what creative cooking does for me.  It’s a simple achievement that gives me a little dopamine-reward, and eating breakfast for dinner bumps up the novelty even more.

If you’re interested in other ways to boost your dopamine check out Ten Ways You Can Increase Dopamine Levels in The Brain without Medication.

What do you have planned to bump up your dopamine over the next few days?  Here are a few ideas to prime your imagination.

• Build a winning streak. Set small incremental goals and take the time to recognize/reward yourself for the progress with bursts of positive feedback.
• Praise yourself just because. Dopamine doesn’t know the difference as long as you feel accomplishment and recognition.
• Create something – reignite that craft, painting or auto repair project
• Meditate on the accomplishment and very miracle of being alive.
• Finish something.  The act of completing something, anything, is rewarding.  Today I plan to hang a shower curtain and that qualifies, as long as I pause and recognize it as an accomplishment and completion.

Please comment in the Facebook post below and tell us the things that you do to add variety, recognition, reward (and spice) to your life.  And if you like this post, please share it.

Bon Appetite!

 

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