HOW TO STOP WASTING YOUR LIFE page 2 of 2

Hello and welcome back on page 2 of dopamine detoxing protocols.To read the first page click the link below.

Page 1 : Read here

Part 2 - EXECUTION 

We have set up the logistics of mindset,the rules and the timeframe then now it is time to begin.So as you begin a dopamine detox,be guaranteed to experience some different kinds of emotions .

You will fell anxious from being disconnected from the internet or loosing your Tiktok or Instagram.You will be uncomfortable with long period of time silence as you would be forced to make conversation with friends instead of watching Netflix,You would feel very lonely with your thoughts and silence, you would even feel really frustrated having to eat breakfast without your phone in your hand but holding a book instead of tik tok

But of all this emotions you are going to feel,there this one of them that you will definitely experience and there's no way you could escape it.What do we do when we feel the least bit bored? We would obviously reach for a phone and we would start scrolling,it is an instincts.Our mind would be trying everything it can to escape feeling bored but us what we are going to do instead is to just tolerate it.Think of boredom as the state of mind whereby a lot of dopamine is still around but the receptors haven't rebounced yet.Eventually our minds are going to be so bored to the point that doing anything would be even better.

We won't have to just sit around the whole without doing anything although that's actually even an option also.Don't forget that we release a dopamine for a lot of things that we do.It is often gradual and less intense than all this other stuffs we are cutting out.But we need to Jorge our brains memories 'fugitive speaking' that it also gets dopamine from persuing goals, spending time with cool people and also learning & whole bunch of other stuff.With the execution phase we are reconditioning our brains to record healthy dopamine alternatives so we get a steadier release of dopamine so that we can actually enjoy doing all of the things that we are use to now do.

To put this in action ,we would do 3 practices every day and i repeat, EVERY SINGLE DAY without exceptions.

1 : Exercise 

It doesn't have to be a full work out,it can be as simple as a 1 hour walk in the neighborhood or to the park,it can be yoga in your home,it can be rope skipping, jogging or whatever you would prefer as form of exercise but the idea is for you to move your body.Exercise increases bloodflow throughout our body and it also causes a healthy and a steady release of Dopamine,that is why you feel very good after a workout or an exercise.

Regular exercise can improve our moods,it can increase our focus, reaction time and it also keeps our bodies to run smoothly all along with looking sexy.There are literally thousands of other health fits from regular exercise um sure you don't need me to remind you.

3 : Connect 

You must talk to another living and breathing human being.Believe it or not, having a real conversation with other people can realise dopamine and other chemicals.Again i doesn't have to be a super difficult thing,it can be a young 10 minutes call with your family member.But if you want to take the protocol to the next level,tell them the reason you are doing the dopamine detox,Get them involved and inspire them to take to take control of their lives too.

I have also grown more as a person from an enthusiastic and passionate friend than anyone else.Maybe you might become a spark for someone else's self discovery journey and that is actually all that the protocol requires.Once you end the detox then we would reach the final part of the detox.

Part: 3 - RESTORATION 

Restoration is the phase whereby we begin to reintroduce the things that we have cut out during the dopamine detox,but only after careful consideration.Yes we can be extreme and say we are never going to use social media platforms,videos games , TV subscriptions and drinking ever again,but I personally think that is completely unnecessary.

Okay think about it this way ,if you can go as far as to create yourself an absolute rule of to never use social media platforms again,then who really has control over who now.You being held hostage and restricting the opportunities to self discovery.The main goal of Dopamine Detox is to regain control of our minds so it is not about permanently deleting all instant gratification or dopamine energetic activities but it is about being intentional in the way that we consume.And this is why i don't think that the detox needs to go beyond 30 days because once we reach dopamine homeostasis then the restoration phase if the protocol will help us build the life that we want.

For context,the idea of restoration came from Nassim Nicholas Taleb's concept of ANTI FRAGILE.After a catastrophic accident,we normally only just think of two outcomes ,some they think fragile,for breaking the parts or being resilient bouncing back.For example,if i come running and kick a small puppy, there's going to be a critical damage,it is fragile but if i try the same thing to an elephant there is going to be zero damage because it is resilient.

But there's actually a third outcome,he calls it antifragile which means becoming stronger after catastrophic .okay let me make an example with pikalo from Dragon ball Z, when a hand is cut of another one grows up.As tats are severed, pikalo doesn't bounce back but instead he becomes more and more powerful.

Restoration makes us antifragile,we just spent seven days cleaning a slate and hitting all the reset buttons and also destrupting this status quotes of our lives but instead of bouncing back to where we were before, being stuck, being unmotivated to persue the dream life that we desired, without mental clarity and focus,why not become stronger.So before i decided to reintroduce things back into my life i asked myself this very important questions.

What are the type of things that i value?

What type of person do i want to be?

What does that person spend their time doing?

Does this app , video games, subscriptions ,six pack of beers or new pairs of shoes align with my value as in how i want to spend my time?

Do they help me become the person i want to be?

If they don't then leave them out of your life,to get a personal example,I did reintroduce Instagram and tik tok and i know other self improvers will disagree with me her but i believe that some scrollings has real value and it can be healthy as long as it is done with intentions.I specifically enjoy a specific sub session of self improvement philosophy on Instagram therefore a only follow there to get ideas that i want and action plans and also connect with people who are on the similar route as me.

Through restoration,i identify that very specific angle and now i only use Instagram to engage in thag community only ,same with twitter,i like design, photography and branding and i only use it to engage and explore that community only .And this is probably the most Millenial thing I'll ever say but none of my friends use tik tok or Twitter therefore all of our group chats are on Instagram.

but i also won't allow myself to get consumed.so and also very intentionally set a limit on my phone of at least 20 minutes a day of each app and this has worked amazing for me.I get exactly the value i want out of this apps and i also get to leave the rest behind, therefore i really encourage you.get into the habit of putting that much intentional thought to the things you reintroduce into your life, if down the line you realise that it is not serving the same purpose it once was.then get rid of it once again.This is how powerful you can become from restrictions, You'll have the ability to pick and choose the best parts about technology, about social media and video games and leave the rest behind.We can regain control.

Adding more doesn't always lead to more happiness,but it always leads to more distractions.And that's my full protocol for dopamine detox.Ever since i did it a couple of months ago,it has helped me tremendously,and i am going to keep using it for months to hit a hard reset , especially when um starting to notice that i am not spending my time the way i want to.

But to set things straight,this protocol won't instantly transform your life.Reframing our mindset or breaking down barriers and beliefs takes intentional practice and time.But that is why we have protocols in place,If you decide to give this protocol a go,please let me know down in the comments below how it worked for you and what did it work for you,what realisation and intentions you realise about yourself.We have a great year ahead of us and we are going to do incredible things into being better humans and we will live more.

Then guys that is it this blog post and I hope some of your or many of your have learned 1 or 2 from this blog and I now willing to take a different route than the one of negative things that I went through but instead the perfect one that I'm instruct you to do then see how your life will turn out. 

Thank you for reading my blog I hope to see you again on the second blog. Stay well