Cole: Overcoming our obsession with more

When Albus Dumbledore warned Harry Potter of the Mirror of Erised’s power to lure him out of the present moment, seducing him into some future possibility of pleasure or fulfillment, he was, in essence, describing the effects of the brain chemical dopamine.

“The happiest man on earth would look into the mirror and see only himself, exactly as he is. The mirror shows us nothing more or less than the deepest and most desperate desires of our hearts. It gives us neither knowledge or truth. Men have wasted away in front of it, even gone mad. It does not do to dwell on dreams, Harry and forget to live.”

Dopamine is the primary biological instigator that makes it difficult to stay in the present. In The Molecule of More, author Daniel Lieberman differentiates dopamine from what he aptly calls the “Here and Now” brain chemicals (those that impact our experience in the present, such as serotonin, oxytocin and endorphins) by describing its role as one of creating anticipation and thoughts of future possibilities. “Dopamine has a very specific job: maximizing resources that will be available to us in the future; the pursuit of better things.”

As advanced or evolved we may be as humans, we still share a very primitive yet crucial element of behavior with almost all other species on this planet: We seek pleasure and avoid pain. It has had to be this way or we would not have survived. As hunter-gatherers, the default of being future-oriented was crucial as we never knew when we would next find food, shelter or mating opportunities — things essential to the perpetuation of our species. Today, most of us have more than we need, but our brains have not yet adapted. We still want more and more, leaving us constantly dreaming about how to go about getting it.

Eat that cookie even if you’re not hungry. Buy that new TV even if you don’t really need it. Dopamine makes us want it, enticing us with the belief that it will increase our chances of being better off in the future. Dopamine is also the architect of regret and buyer’s remorse. After we’ve acted on an impulse that dopamine creates, we rarely feel as good as we thought we would have. Cravings for and addiction to pleasurable things like food, drugs, alcohol, sex (and love) and social media are the unfortunate effects of dopamine as it hijacks the desire circuits in search of perpetual delight.

It’s not all doom and gloom: Dopamine has also taken advantage of our larger brains and become the driver of progress, advancing our species far beyond any other. It has given us the ability to create tools, develop abstract scientific concepts, and plan far into the future. But this progress cannot remain unchecked. In an environment of excess, where we’ve mastered our world and developed sophisticated technology and in a time when having more does not necessarily increase our chances of survival, dopamine continues to madly and blindly drive us forward, often to our own detriment. We’ve simply become too good at gratifying our wants and desires. Without some kind of intentional intervention, staying in the present becomes a significantly difficult challenge.

Unmanaged indulgence in its lure may have contributed to the early demise of some of those who might have gone too far down the dopamine rabbit hole. Before his tragic suicide, culinary explorer Anthony Bourdain wrote, “I frequently look back at my life, searching for that fork in the road, trying to figure out where, exactly, I went bad and became a thrill-seeking, pleasure-hungry sensualist, always looking to shock, amuse, terrify and manipulate, seeking to fill that empty spot in my soul with something new.” (From Kitchen Confidential.)

What can be done to mitigate this inherent dynamic of human behavior?

We need to learn to overcome our obsession with more, to appreciate the wonderful complexity of the present moment and learn to enjoy the things we have. By accepting things as they are, we can develop a higher level of self-empowerment, which can allow us to intentionally and purposefully make changes toward the things we truly value. Sensory reality, accessed by staying in the present moment, in a balanced combination with more abstract thought, powered by dopamine, can create the optimal human experience. Only here can we embrace our full potential.

The foundation is mindfulness. Its many forms of practice will be discussed in the next couple of months. In the meantime, consider the cautioning from Dumbledore and Lieberman that, under the disguise of rapture, dopamine makes many promises it cannot keep.

Jeff Cole is a licensed professional counselor, board certified leadership and performance coach and graduate of Naropa’s Contemplative Psychology program. He can be reached at jmcole28@gmail.com.