)It was a very hectic day for me as l had a handful of work done in the clinic. As soon as l got home l retired on my couch with a glass of water and as l began to sip the water l put on the Television set and right on time, the match was just about to begin. It was a football match between Arsenal and Chelsea . As a passionate lover of football I couldn’t have wished for any other event on the TV at that time. The referee blew the whistle to signal the commencement of the match.
It was a tension soaked game right from the start with each side trying to get a goal passed the other. Arsenal were the better side on the pitch as they had statistics in their favour vis-a-viz possession of the ball, attempt at goal etc. However, much as they tried to get the ball into the opponent net, they were met with stiff resistance from the Chelsea defense and maybe a bit of luck on the part of the Chelsea should l say because, three times in the game they had hit the cross bar, not to mention the brilliant save by the Chelsea goal stopper on three different occasions as well.
It was as if the god of soccer was not on the side of arsenal, but by dint of hard work, determination and constant motivation by the coach and supporters, they kept on pressurizing the defense of Chelsea and just as l thought the game was going to end in a stalemate, a long range shot from about 18yards eventually bit the outstretched hands of the goalkeeper and there you have it the game ended in favour of Arsenal.The focus of this post is not to run a post-match commentary between two teams but to highlight the importance of how determination and motivation can deliver the needed result for us and also to bring to bear the part of the brain that is responsible for this attributes.
The neuroscience of determination and motivation:
The human brain is a unique and complex structure that serves as a powerhouse and control center to facilitate vital and complicated physiological, psychological and cognitive functions. It contains billions of neurological connections that work together to carry out complex functions by producing neurotransmitters.
Numerous neurotransmitters carry chemical messages that played out in the brain through these complex networks of neurons which thereafter affect the rest of the body. The brain is made up of four regions; the cerebral cortex, the cerebellum, the cerebrum and the brain stem. Each of these regions is responsible for varieties of functions. Our focus here is on the cerebrum which is the part of the brain responsible for motivation.
The cerebrum
The cerebrum is the largest part of the brain. It is divided into the right and left brain hemispheres. Each hemisphere has four parts; the frontal, parietal, occipital and temporal lobes. Each of these lobes has various and different functions. The frontal lobe is the part responsible for motivation and the neurotransmitter that plays the role in the science of motivation is Dopamine. Dopamine when secreted is transmitted from one neuron to another via various specific receptors through the synapse.
There are different types of receptors, neurons, and pathways in the cerebrum that neurotransmitters can take, but the mesolimbic pathway which is derived from the middle of the brain and extends to various part of the cerebrum is the most important pathway for dopamine to exert it effect. The nucleus accumbens is one of the nucleuses that the mesolimbic pathway extends to and when there is increased secretion of dopamine in this nucleus, it sends a feedback for predicting rewards which triggers the brain to recognize that an important thing is about to happen which is the bases for motivation. Two major areas in the cerebrum that are known to impact motivation and reward are the prefrontal cortex and the striatum.
Research conducted by Vanderbilt scientists have shown that higher levels of dopamine are found in these areas in people who are highly motivated to work hard; the go-getters. They also pointed out that people who have low levels of dopamine in these areas have reduced motivation.
Are you one of those? Do you find it difficult to get motivated when performing a task? Do you easily give up? How can you overcome this?
What do you do to increase your dopamine level to boost your motivation and hence your productivity?
Dopamine is an essential ingredient for motivation. Motivation happens when there is dopamine spike as you anticipate that something rewarding is about to happen. This way the brain can be trained to feed off of spikes of dopamine sparked by rewarding events or activities. In achieving this, you need to create a dopamine environment within the brain and a way to do those rewarding experiences is by setting incremental goals. Dopamine will flow as a result of your brain’s positive reinforcement every time you complete a step and meet a challenge.
Get your dopamine flowing by;
- Focusing on the goal; think of how great and elated you will feel when you complete that task or project. Keep your eye on the price!
- Give details to small achievement; Take note of every task you accomplished as this helps to reinforce you as you make more progress and you will feel greater effects of dopamine.
- Communicate with other people and share your results with them, by this they will recognize your work and you will get positive feedback which will help boost your dopamine level
- Finally, eat foods that contain dopamine such as yogurt and sauerkraut.
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