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b"Why do you feel so motivated and excited about tackling a new project at first, but then get bored and abandon it?\\n\\nWhy does passionate love quickly turn into ambivalence?\\xa0\\n\\nWhy does it feel like you had more zest for life and work in your twenties than in your thirties and forties?\\n\\nMuch of the answer can be found in a single chemical in your brain:\\xa0dopamine.\\n\\nThat\\u2019s the case\\xa0today\\u2019s guests make.\\xa0Their names are Daniel Lieberman and Michael Long, and they\\u2019re the co-authors of a new book entitled\\xa0The Molecule of More: How a Single Chemical in Your Brain Drives Love, Sex, and Creativity. Daniel is a professor of psychiatry at George Washington University and Michael is a trained physicist turned writer. In The\\xa0Molecule of More, they team up to explore a chemical that compels us towards achieving our goals, but also towards addiction.\\xa0\\n\\nWe begin our conversation discussing the situations in which\\xa0dopamine\\xa0plays a role in our lives, how it\\u2019s made, and how\\xa0dopamine\\xa0levels change throughout our lifetimes. We then discuss how\\xa0dopamine\\xa0drives our endless search for novelty, and the problems this can cause if we don't learn to how to switch from the excitement of anticipating something, to enjoying it in the here and now. Daniel and Michael then walk us through\\xa0dopamine\\u2019s role in addiction to things like porn and drugs and the differences between \\u201cdesire\\xa0dopamine\\u201d and \\u201ccontrol\\xa0dopamine.\\u201d Along the way, they share insights on how to harness your\\xa0dopamine\\xa0so it works towards your greater goals, rather than against them.\\n\\nIf you love the thrill of the chase, but have a hard time transitioning from pursuing something to actually building it, this is the podcast for you.\\n\\nGet the show notes at aom.is/dopamine."