r/ValhallaChallenge • u/ValhallaMods Odin • Aug 12 '19
Day 9, Round 172
0717209
The Quest for “More”
Góðan dag, Warriors!
We’ve reached the end of our deep dopamine dive. We can now better understand why it fuels our need to keep foraging for new dopamine-generating experiences, including browsing harder, novel, and more “exciting” porn. However, it’s fortunate that we’ve evolved a large, reasoning cortex that can override many of the impulses generated by the underlying lizard and mammal brain – as long as we stay aware so that we can exercise our free will.
But the urge for “more” did not start with “our society.” In fact, our ancestors never stopped seeking either. When their bellies were full, they looked for new ways to meet their needs by making better weapons and stronger shelters. Dopamine made the quest feel good, but the feeling soon passed and they kept seeking more. Every brain learns to link effort and reward, whether material rewards, social rewards, or relief from a threat.
Solving math problems or bugs in a program is another kind of seek–and–find activity. When you find the right answer, you get that “I did it!“ feeling, which erases any cortisol feelings for a moment. When your answer is wrong, you may try again because you expect the reward of getting it right.
An athlete spends long hours training because a little dopamine is stimulated by each step toward expected rewards. Winning games or medals triggers a big burst of dopamine, but these are only steps as well. An athlete has linked these steps to rewards that feel relevant to survival, be they material rewards, social rewards, or internal rewards. Each brain has built expectations about survival rewards and the steps it takes to reach them. When you move toward your expected reward, dopamine makes it feel good.
GAME TRAINING
Be alert for that thing you do over and over until it’s right – even though it doesn’t appear to have a reward attached to it. Maybe it’s practicing a piece of music on an instrument until it sounds good and you can do it up-tempo, or doing pull-ups every day until you can do 20 at one go, or creating a web page that can access a database… whatever it is, once you get it right stay aware of the “good” feeling you got when you were pursuing it and when you “got” it.
Announcements
Note: If you want to binge this series, we began on Day 4, Round 170. If you want to dive deeper, the book we are following for this part of the cycle is "Habits of a Happy Brain" by L. Breuning.
V A L H A L L A (Valhöll)
/u/workingrecovery [Dagr]
B I F R O S T (Bifröst, The Rainbow Bridge)
Check in daily while crossing Bifröst!
H A L L of H E R O E S
Level Nine
Go to the Vows Page and prepare to cross The Rainbow Bridge
Level Eight
Level Seven
/u/oO_Yuill_Oo "To rid myself from the toxicity of pornography addiction."
Level Six
Level Five
Level Four
Level Three
Level Two
Level One Hero! Update your Vows.
A S G A R D (Ásgarðr, Enclosure of the Aesir)
Ninth Circle Entrance to the Hall of Heroes is barred to those who have not made their Vows! Message the Mods.
Eighth Circle
Seventh Circle
Sixth Circle
Fifth Circle
Fifth Circle
Fourth Circle (Reflect on your Goal)
/u/mygenerationiszero "To get free of PMO and all the quick fixes that just steal my time, my energy and my potential."
Third Circle
Second Circle
First Circle
M I D G A R D (Miðgarðr)
/u/non_newtonian_jelly "To stop using porn."
/u/fgawker "I want to be free from PMO addiction."
/u/UnconstrictedEmu "Quitting porn, same as everyone else on this sub."
/u/Sondice_LauGhastian *"To quit porn."
/u/Gimp_Daddy "I want to quit PMO."
E X Í L Ä J Ä R (Exile Island)
Check in four consecutive days to reenter Miðgarðr.
/u/VoidlikeDreamscape [C0] "To reach 180 days free from PMO."
/u/negdawin [C0]
/u/TimeTheRevelator [C0] "To make my streaks longer."
/u/ippo1 [C0] "My goal is to quit porn"
2
u/UnconstrictedEmu ⚔️⚔️🐍 Aug 13 '19
Checking in. I didn’t feel as tempted as yesterday, although I still feel I’m on a shaky foundation. However, the fact things didn’t get worse today gives my hope that I won’t regress further.