More or less directly pulled[^1] from the final chapter of [[Dopamine Nation]] - interestingly I thought "this book is really about [[Balance]]" juuuust before it directly stated a list titled "lessons of the balance". 1. Relentless pursuit of pleasure and avoidance of [[pain]], leads only to pain. 1. similar note: [[Accepting the Negative is a Positive]] 2. Recovery begins with abstinence 1. i.e. it's a necessary, if intensely difficult first step 3. Abstinence resets the brain's reward pathway, and with it our capacity to take joy in [[Pleasure vs Enjoyment|simple pleasures]] 4. [[Self-Binding]] creates literal & metacognitive space between desire and consumption, 1. reminds me of [[Reaction vs Response]] and the bit about [[Be Proactive|Response-Ability]] 5. Medications can restore homeostasis, but consider what we lose by medicating away our pain 6. Pressing on the pain side resets our balance to the side of pleasure 1. [[Pain#Deliberate Pain]] 7. Beware getting addicted to pain 8. Radical [[Vulnerability is Necessary|honesty]] promotes awareness, enhances intimacy, and fosters a "plenty" mindset 9. Prosocial [[Shame]] affirms that we all belong to the human tribe 1. i.e. nobody's perfect, and we can accept each other's follies so long as they're penitent -- the whole "prosocial shame" thing from the book I'm not sure how I feel about. I suppose it's better than being a degenerate. 10. Instead of running away from the world, we find escape by immersing ourselves in it 1. [[Presence]] and [[Walking Aids Thinking|walking]] (among other things) **** # More ## Source - [[Dopamine Nation]] [^1]: with commentary from me