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The Dopamine Dilemma: Making Your Brain Crave Hard Work

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Discover how to rewire your brain's reward system to enjoy the process, not just the outcome. Drawing from Kent Berridge's wanting vs. liking research, Anna Lembke's dopamine reset techniques, and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's flow state principles, learn practical strategies to transform effort into motivation.

The Dopamine Dilemma: Making Your Brain Crave Hard Work
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How This Personalized Podcast Was Made

This podcast was created using BeFreed’s AI, based on selected books, the creator’s learning goals, and their preferred tone.

Holding the Hunger Games Hostage at the Gym: An Evaluation of Temptation Bundling
link
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4381662/
Amping Up Effort: Effects of d-Amphetamine on Human Effort-Based Decision-Making
link
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3234999/
Flow, the secret to happiness
link
https://www.ted.com/speakers/mihaly_csikszentmihalyi
Understanding & Treating Addiction | Dr. Anna Lembke
link
https://www.hubermanlab.com/dr-anna-lembke-understanding-and-treating-addiction/
Controlling Your Dopamine For Motivation, Focus & Satisfaction
link
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/867-huberman-lab-76469933/episode/controlling-your-dopamine-for-motivation-focus-87352191/
Worth the 'EEfRT'? The Effort Expenditure for Rewards Task
link
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19672310/
Tiny Habits
link
https://www.befreed.ai/book/tiny-habits-by-bj-fogg
Dopamine Nation
link
https://www.befreed.ai/book/dopamine-nation-by-anna-lembke
Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise
link
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26312997-peak
Atomic Habits
link
https://www.befreed.ai/book/atomic-habits-by-james-clear
Grit: The power of passion and perseverance
link
https://www.ted.com/talks/angela_lee_duckworth_grit_the_power_of_passion_and_perseverance/
#496 – Dr Andrew Huberman – The Science Of Peak Performance
link
https://player.fm/series/modern-wisdom/ep-496-dr-andrew-huberman-the-science-of-peak-performance
Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience
link
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/66354.Flow
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us
link
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6452796-drive
The Molecule of More
link
https://www.befreed.ai/book/the-molecule-of-more-by-daniel-z-lieberman
Dissecting components of reward: ‘liking’, ‘wanting’, and learning
link
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2756052/
Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance
link
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27213329-grit
Caffeine increases striatal dopamine D2/D3 receptor availability in the human brain
link
https://scholars.mssm.edu/en/publications/caffeine-increases-striatal-dopamine-dsub2subdsub3sub-receptor-av-2
Essentials: Controlling Your Dopamine for Motivation, Focus & Satisfaction
link
https://www.hubermanlab.com/episode/essentials-controlling-your-dopamine-for-motivation-focus-satisfaction
The puzzle of motivation
link
https://www.english-video.net/v/en/618
Dopamine promotes cognitive effort by biasing the benefits versus costs of cognitive work
link
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7430502/
Tonic dopamine: opportunity costs and the control of response vigor
link
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17031711/
The Effort Paradox: Effort Is Both Costly and Valued
link
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6172040/
Deep Work
link
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25744928-deep-work
How to make stress your friend
link
https://www.ted.com/talks/kelly_mcgonigal_how_to_make_stress_your_friend
Temptation Bundling and Behavior Change with Dr. Katy Milkman
link
https://alliancefordecisioneducation.org/podcasts/episode-015-temptation-bundling-and-behavior-change-with-dr-katy-milkman/
Dopamine, Effort-Based Choice, and Behavioral Economics: Basic and Translational Research
link
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5876251/
The power of believing that you can improve
link
https://www.ted.com/talks/carol_dweck_the_power_of_believing_that_you_can_improve
Dopamine Does Double Duty in Motivating Cognitive Effort
link
https://profiles.wustl.edu/en/publications/dopamine-does-double-duty-in-motivating-cognitive-effort
Wanting and Liking: Observations from the Neuroscience and Psychology Laboratory
link
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2813042/
A Neural Substrate of Prediction and Reward
link
https://www.gatsby.ucl.ac.uk/~dayan/papers/sdm97.html
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Input question

How can I rewire my brain to actually enjoy hard work instead of just the rewards?

Podcast Style
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"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."

@Raaaaaachelw
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"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."

@Matt, YC alum
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comments12
likes108

"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."

@Erin, Investment Banking Associate , NYC
platform
comments254
likes17

"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."

@djmikemoore
platform
starstarstarstarstar

"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."

@Pitiful
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likes4.5K

"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."

@SofiaP
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"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"

@Jaded_Falcon
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thumbsUp16

"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."

@OojasSalunke
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"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."

@Leo, Law Student, UPenn
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comments37
likes483

"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"

@Cashflowbubu
platform
starstarstarstarstar

"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."

@Moemenn
platform
starstarstarstarstar

"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."

@Chloe, Solo founder, LA
platform
comments12
likes117

"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."

@Raaaaaachelw
platform
starstarstarstarstar

"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."

@Matt, YC alum
platform
comments12
likes108

"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."

@Erin, Investment Banking Associate , NYC
platform
comments254
likes17

"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."

@djmikemoore
platform
starstarstarstarstar

"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."

@Pitiful
platform
comments96
likes4.5K

"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."

@SofiaP
platform
starstarstarstarstar

"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"

@Jaded_Falcon
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comments201
thumbsUp16

"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."

@OojasSalunke
platform
starstarstarstarstar

"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."

@Leo, Law Student, UPenn
platform
comments37
likes483

"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"

@Cashflowbubu
platform
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