While dopamine can addict us to superstimuli, the chemical isn’t all bad. Dopamine can provide us with motivation, help us to think logically and long term, and even supports many of our body’s routine operations, helping our blood vessels, kidneys, pancreas, digestive system, and immune system function. As anxious and unproductive as overindulging

To help kick off the book, here’s a deceptively simple question for you to reflect on: How do you determine whether a day of your life went well?

Analog activities give our mind room to think. When our mind wanders, it automatically unearths ideas, plans for the future, and recharges.

Checking social media is more stimulating than talking to a friend over breakfast. Pornography is more dopaminergic than sex. Ordering takeout from an app is more stimulating than cooking dinner with your spouse. Watching YouTube videos is more stimulating than reading an engaging book with a cup of tea. Lying on the couch reading the news online i

We have the time for activities that make us calm. The reality is that we don’t have the patience to adjust to a lower stimulation height.

There is a certain tranquil quality to devoting our entire capacity for presence to one thing. It’s a feeling of sinking in, of becoming the very thing you’re engaging with.

love, financial freedom, and leisure time.

Nearly all habits that lead us to calm exist in one place: the analog world. The more time we spend in the analog world, as opposed to the digital one, the calmer we become. We best unwind in the analog world, acting in accordance with how our ancient brain is wired.

Write down fun activities that make you present, including ones you haven’t engaged with in a while because of a “lack of time.”