Purpose and Consumption
I have learned that defining purpose creates clarity. When I have clear goals, I establish a baseline to judge the success or failure of a day. The most meandering days are the ones where I am on autopilot.
A meandering, autopilot activity would look like consuming low quality dopamine, like twitter or reddit scrolling. I have learning how to redirect those habits into higher quality ones. I have two simple examples: reading and writing. Both develop clear thinking. Regular time has improved my focus and ability to work through mentally difficult tasks.
The ongoing challenge is the lower quality dopamine habit will always be easier to pick up. The addiction is real. But awareness brings these challenges to the forefront—the implicit challenge becomes explicit.
Knowing this, I've found that remembering that there is withdrawal period when replacing habits is important. Then, the clarity of purpose comes back. I'm doing this because I want to engage with the world more capably. This purpose alone is enough to remind myself to choose the more difficult road.