Latest / ✨️Aligned and Thriving: For Teachers🌿 / 💁🏼‍♀️Dopamine Reset: How to Get Your Energy, Focus & Motivation Back

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💁🏼‍♀️Dopamine Reset: How to Get Your Energy, Focus & Motivation Back · ✨️Aligned and Thriving: For Teachers🌿

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  Hello, hello, my loves, and welcome back to another episode
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  of Aligned and Thriving for teachers.
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  Now today's episode, I am super, super, super excited to bring
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  you. This one has been a little bit
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  of a in the making type of situation.
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  Lots of conversations, lots of reading, lots of research
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  because I love I love self help, like I love researching.
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  I love reading about things that could make my life easier and
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  better in the long run, and then in turn, to help other people.
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  And sometimes you actually do need a break from that.
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  But this was one of the last sort of things that I had worked
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  on before I sort of swapped back to reading some fiction novels
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  because when you're in school holiday mode, I like to just
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  zone out. So I go back to reading my
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  fiction. But I wanted to share with you
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  what I had been doing before I switch back to my fiction
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  reading. So this one, I want to talk to
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  you today about dopamine and why you're going to feel so drained
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  and how we can fix it in a couple of easy steps.
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  Maybe it'll take you like 5 minutes to fix it, but you got
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  to keep listening to find out. So you're not just tired, your
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  brain actually needs this. This one's going to hit
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  different, but stay with me because once I understood all of
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  this, it honestly changed the way how I moved through my day.
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  So, and it talks to you about dopamine first.
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  So what it is in real terms, it's basically your brain's
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  motivation and reward chemical and it gives you that little
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  boost, that sense of satisfaction.
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  It's that I feel good feeling. But here's the problem.
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  We now live in a world full of instant dopamine hits like
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  social media, scrolling, notification, quick hits of
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  entertainment. Your brain is constantly getting
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  rewarded without actually having to do very much.
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  So why does this matter to us? For teachers is that teaching is
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  actually the opposite of an instant reward.
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  We don't always see the results straight away.
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  We don't always get feedback, we don't always feel like we have
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  achieved something. So then what happens?
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  Our brain starts craving those quick dopamine hits instead,
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  like scrolling or snacking or checking your phone.
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  Then you start to make yourself feel flat and tired and
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  unmotivated. And although you like it makes
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  you feel like you've been on switched on all day and there's
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  just nothing that's going to fix it.
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  So what the research shows, if you've actually read the book
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  The Dose Effect by TJ Power, he talks about how we're basically
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  trained our brains to expect constant stimulation and reward,
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  which means that we struggle to focus, we feel less satisfied,
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  we need more feel good sort of things.
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  So it's not that we're lazy, it's just that our brain needs
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  better dopamine sources. Not all dopamine is bad, we just
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  need intentional dopamine instead of the mindless hits
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  that we have access to. I actually read somewhere when I
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  was doing my research that the song Ring My Bell was actually
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  banned in some casinos because when it was actually played,
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  people started to win more because they started to feel
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  motivated and they started to believe that they were going to
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  win and then they actually started to win more.
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  Whether that's 100% true or not, I'm not sure, but there was
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  definitely some research behind it and there are definitely some
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  casinos that still have that don't play that song for the
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  very reason that they're worried that that could happen.
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  But it just shows how powerful music can actually be for your
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  brain. So find yourself some pump up
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  tracks. Music can literally shift your
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  state instantly. So you need to find yourself
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  your own little. So I have Spotify, obviously,
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  and I have a list of tracks that are literally my pump up tracks.
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  I listen to them on the way to a hockey game.
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  I might listen to them straight after work because I just need
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  that hit that gets me up and gets me going and I can just
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  belt out a song and be like, yeah, I'm ready to go.
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  So you need something like that now.
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  Scrolling. Yeah, you can scroll.
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  I scroll, but I do it with a purpose.
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  So when I'm getting my phone out to scroll, if I'm on Facebook,
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  it is to check in on my friends, It's to have a laugh.
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  If I go on TikTok, my algorithm sort of set up to get funny
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  memes or recipe ideas. The way my algorithm actually
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  works, it's working for me, not against me because I have
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  trained it to be that way. So social media doesn't always
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  show either the people that you follow or that you've chosen to
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  follow. So sometimes you have to go and
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  search them and check back in. Facebook does the same thing.
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  Now, if you haven't engaged with a particular group for a while,
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  it won't bring up new posts from that group.
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  You need to be engaging with certain things.
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  So you need to, when you're scrolling, engage with the kind
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  of content that you want to be seeing and you want to have in
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  your face all the time, because then it will keep showing it
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  back up to you. The same people will start
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  showing up to you. It's like me, when you go to a
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  line of time for teachers, if you start liking my posts, then
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  they'll start coming up for you. You get that good hit of
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  dopamine. So yes, you can, you can do
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  that, but that's you need to do it more intentionally.
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  So I told you I was going to give you some great 5 minute
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  quick tips. So your 5 minute dopamine reset
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  sort of list. And this is what I think
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  teachers really need. It's quick, it's realistic, and
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  you can actually do them. I talked to you just a second
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  ago about your music reset. So put on a song, loud,
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  energetic, fun, shift your mood instantly.
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  I don't know about you, but if you've ever actually seen me do
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  a little dance, I like to just pop on a song and and dance
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  around for a bit and just go absolutely crazy and then I'm
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  good to go. It used to work really well for
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  the kids too. If the kids were having a bit of
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  a meltdown, I'd just turn the song up louder and like smash
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  out the song and by the end of the song they'd forgotten
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  whatever they were arguing about.
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  South music can absolutely change your brain.
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  So #1 is a music reset #2 get yourself outside.
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  Fresh air, sunlight, completely natural dopamine boost, even if
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  it is just literally standing outside and breathing the fresh
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  air. I can actually thank my dog for
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  this good old Nyla, because chasing her around the paddock,
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  if she sees the sheep, it forces me to go outside sometimes.
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  But now we try to make it a bit more intentional when we take
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  her outside. We're very strategic into the
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  areas that she is or isn't where she can get out.
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  We have new fences now, so she can't just take off after the
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  sheep, but she does like to bark at them.
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  So I'm just very strategic about where we go out and do our time
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  outside. But we still step outside #3 and
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  I love this, I do this all the time, but it's a brain dump.
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  Or, or I should say and, or gratitude.
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  I do both. In the morning, I do gratitude
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  journaling. And I make a list of things that
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  I am thankful for. And it can be as simple as I'm
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  thankful for Wi-Fi to as big as being blessed with a house or a
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  safe car to drive, or that I am healthy.
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  Or I woke up today like literally thinking about what
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  are you thankful for today? Because that will change your
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  brain. And at night, a bit of a brain
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  dump to get everything out of your head.
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  I know I've said before, but in case you haven't heard, got a
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  bit of a diary that has one side that's got work and one side
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  that's got home. And I can do a brain dump of all
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  the things I need to get out of my head for work and all the
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  things I need to get out of my head for home.
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  Because I don't know what it is about my husband, but it's
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  literally 9:00 at night when you're just about to go to bed
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  and he's like, oh, do you reckon you could do this for me
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  tomorrow? Because that's when it comes
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  out. So I'm like, hang on, write it
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  down in the brain dump and then we're good to go.
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  So yes, we do it that way. It is absolutely gold.
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  It clears your mind and it just gives you your brain, that sense
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  of relief #4 this is to move your body.
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  Now this does not have to be extreme.
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  It can be just going for a walk, walking the dog, having a quick
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  stretch, doing a workout. For me, I roll out of bed,
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  obviously still in my PJS and I do my workout.
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  I may not feel motivated to do that every day, but I know how I
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  feel if I haven't and I know how I feel if I have.
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  So I'll roll out of bed, force myself out and I will do my
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  workout. And then I feel amazing because
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  that dopamine heat has started. I don't scroll first when I get
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  up. That's I do workout first.
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  So workout first, go for a walk on the treadmill or walk the dog
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  and then start getting on with the day.
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  Do my gratitude practise and get ready from there because that's
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  part of moving my body. You might play sport.
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  I know that's exactly what I do. I play netball.
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  I'd like to say social netball, but I am socially competitive.
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  I really, I really struggle with not being competitive when we're
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  not supposed to be competitive. So yes, I am socially
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  competitive and netball. And then I've also got hockey.
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  And just the minute you step on the field and you get to get out
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  and go, that dopamine starts and you're like, yes.
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  And that's, that's the thing. Like these are the kids that
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  we're dealing with. We're dealing with a new
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  generation of kids that are constantly getting an instant
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  dopamine hit. So it's really hard for us as
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  teachers to be doing that while we're teaching for kids.
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  And we still try and manage it, but we've got to manage it for
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  ourselves too #5 Another easy one for you.
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  Declutter one small space. I'm not saying declutter a whole
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  room. I'm like, pick a drawer, pull it
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  out, sort it out, put it back in.
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  Sounds really simple, but it actually gives your brain like
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  that big, I've done something, I've completed it win, which
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  equals dopamine because you've done something and you're like,
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  woo Hoo, tick that box. That's an easy one.
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  Number six, Make yourself some rituals.
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  Turn something boring into something enjoyable.
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  OK, so if you think about something that you dread, like
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  sometimes I really don't want to reply to emails and I'm like oh
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  I'm going to have to sit there and do all those replies.
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  So go make myself fancy coffee and then sit down with my fancy
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  coffee to then do my replies to my email.
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  Because I am sipping, I am resetting and I am doing
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  something that I need to get done, but I've made a ritual out
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  of it. OK, you can do this with lots of
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  different things #7 stack your habits.
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  It's a win win. If it's raining, go on the
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  treadmill and watch Netflix. Haha.
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  I am talking from experience. You get a dope for me and hit
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  and you get movement so you just like double whammy.
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  See Win win. Habits stuck.
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  It's great #8 clean with music. I used to laugh at this so much.
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  This is a bit of a blast from my past.
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  My mum, I love you. Look, when we had to clean the
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  house, she'd put Aberon while we cleaned and honestly, the deal
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  was the faster you clean the house, the faster ABBA gets
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  turned off. I have nothing against ABBA, and
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  I do like the music now, but at the time when you're a preteen,
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  you're not in the mood to listen to your mother's music.
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  And she is blasting Waterloo all over the speakers in the
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  surround sound lounge room. And you're like, whoo, this is
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  great. I just want to vacuum the floor.
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  I need to vacuum this. I need to put my clothes away.
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  Mom, I'm done. She's like, oh, OK, we're done.
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  We'll turn the music off then. Like, oh, thank goodness.
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  But it got things done faster. And now, sadly, I do exactly the
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  same. I crank the tunes and I clean
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  the house and my kids do help, but we actually have a very
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  similar taste in music, like we're very eclectic.
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  And so they they don't actually care.
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  They like dancing when they're clean and when they help.
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  So for us it's more fun, but we do get the cleaning done faster
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  and there it's just clean. With music, it makes a
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  difference. You can do it with your
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  headphones in or you can blast it on speakers or your TV on
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  YouTube, whatever #9 do something with purpose.
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  Now I think I sort of this is more connected to sport, like
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  movement, sport is a big one for this.
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  So it's doing something. But when you've got a purpose,
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  so nothing makes you move like having a reason to move.
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  You know those memes where you see the the, the chick sitting
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  on the deck with a glass of wine and there's someone and they're
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  like, oh, you're running, is somebody chasing you?
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  Well, it's motivation, isn't it? If that was the actual case.
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  So for me, I do do things better if I know that there's like a
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  time limit or if I know there's a goal.
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  So with hockey, there's a goal. I need to get to the goal.
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  There's people chasing me. With netball, I need to get
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  quickly to the goal to put the ball in the hoop.
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  Like it's all those things. Doing things with a specific
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  purpose. You might, I know when you've
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  got time frames or deadlines to do things, you get stuff done
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  faster. It's it's doing it with an end
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  insight. So there you go.
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  The real shift. And what's really changed for me
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  is that I've stopped relying on just random hits of dopamine and
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  I've started creating it on purpose.
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  So because if you don't, your brain goes straight back into
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  default mode, which could be scrolling or snacking or
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  avoiding avoiding certain tasks like that type of thing. 100%
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  was very, very guilty in the snacking department.
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  Like I think, and I don't know if you know me, you would have
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  seen that I've had a bit of a body transformation because I've
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  changed my eating habits. I eat a lot healthier now.
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  I put different nutrients into my body.
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  I drink a lot more water, I move a lot more because I used to be
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  one of those people that would just mindlessly snack and I
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  didn't realise I was really doing it.
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  And that took a big mental shift because I was getting a dopamine
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  hit from eating. I'd go to the fridge and be
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  like, oh, chocolate? And then I'd feel good for that
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  5 minutes and then I'd feel guilty and then you'd have
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  dessert and then I'd feel guilty.
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  It was that constant hit of dopamine and then the crash
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  after. So you've got to do what works
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  for you and you've got to make those changes.
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  So I've had to do the same and it's made a real shift for me
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  because now I see the difference in my mind, my body, all of
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  those things. So you don't need to do a full
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  life reset. You don't need hours of time to
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  have these moments of dopamine. You just need the small
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  intentional moments through your day where you can sort of plan
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  to have those little dopamine boosts because they all add up
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  and it will completely change how you feel massively.
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  So here's your challenge. Have a think about these or if
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  you've got any other ideas and pick one of these today, just
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  one, and see if you can give it a go and see how different you
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  feel because energy doesn't always come from doing less.
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  Sometimes it comes from doing the right things and whatever it
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  is that you need at the time. So just to have a think about
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  that and then go from there. So that's my advice for you
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  today, and if you haven't read The Dose Effect, it's a really
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  good read. I'll probably touch more on it a
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  bit later, but yeah, that's just my quick because we all need
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  something quick. 5 minutes. Just try this and see what a
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  difference it actually makes for you.
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  And if it actually does anything, you can let me know.
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  Give me some feedback and tell me what you've tried.
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  Tell me what's worked. Tell me the difference that you
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  felt in yourself or what other people may have said.
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  It's all worth it. Those quick hits of dope mean
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  just to get you on the right track and to get your brain
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  wiring back into gear. All right, so if you haven't
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  been told today, you are enough. You're doing an amazing job and
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  I love you and I look forward to talking with you again soon.
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  Goodbye my loves.