But the key here is be cautious , I would say be very cautious about stacking and layering in too many dopamine peak inducing behaviors all at once on a regular basis . The key point here is if you are somebody that can engage in these intrinsically joyful activities for you , these activities that you're really motivated to do , whether or not it's skiing or playing music or dancing , et cetera without the need to layer in additional dopamine , releasing mechanisms or compounds or activities . Well , then I highly recommend you do that because then you are essentially making yourself one of those fortunate few that does not require additional stimuli and therefore can hold on to that pleasure , can hold on to that intrinsic pleasure and motivation to engage in these behaviors over time which frankly , there is no replacement for , there is no pill or bottle or potion or motivational speech or podcast or book that can replace intrinsic motivation .
Intrinsic motivation is perhaps the holy grail of all human endeavors and behaviors because it encompasses so much of what brought us to this point in our species evolution . And also what brings each and every one of us closer and closer to our goals . And if it's happening with enjoyment without the need to layer in additional tools , well , then you have really tapped into the source .
I am not one of those people that doesn't like the experience of exercising but likes the feeling afterwards . Quote unquote . I hear that a lot .
I think it's quite clear by now that when we hear about from Eastern medicine or we talk about motivation , drive and pursuit in on Western neurobiological languages that relates to dopamine or we hear about the source , maybe in my podcast episode with um the one and only Rick Rubin , incredibly productive music producer , who's as an just an unbelievable track record in terms of creative endeavors . And he talks about the source . We're really talking about the same thing , which is this set of circuits within us that allow us to identify what we want and then lean into effort and then to do that in a persistent way that allows us to reach our goals .
And I discovered that all of those things , all of those behaviors compounded with my love of exercise and my love of doing science and gave me these big peaks in what to me felt like even important experiences . They felt that , you know , unlike anything else , they were just so so peak in their nature , which was great and it did indeed enhance my performance . However , while it did not create a dependency for those different substances , caffeine supplements , et cetera .