It’s a classic bait-and-switch that someone ELSE is hijacking to profit from a young squab’s natural reward centers.
Our brains — guys in particular — are wired to give us a flood of endorphins when we accomplish something.
It literally FEELS good to look back over a realized goal and say to yourself, I finally snagged that goal I’ve been chasing.
That same feeling can arise from all sorts of places… anything from the gleam of a newly-washed car, to the first kiss from that girl you’ve been chasing, hitting a personal best at the gym, teaching your kid to ride a bike, serving a well-cooked meal, starting a new job, or completing that DIY project you weren’t quite sure if you could pull off.
It can be almost anything. It’s our natural hardwiring to keep pushing ourself to the next level. But the body doesn’t know the difference between real accomplishments and the sugar-high counterfeits. The same hardwired system that keeps us pushing to elevate our personal bests is also leveraged to keep us doomscrolling on social media, slaying digital dragons instead of real ones in the world around us, binging another TV series, looking at woman-shaped glowing pixels instead of finding a flesh-and-blood wife, and so on.
What do you think is motivating the fentanyl zombies to throw their lives away? It’s a shortcut overloading of the very same system. The reward without the accomplishment.
The problem is, when you are chasing the counterfeit, you are NOT moving closer to any of the real-world personal bests. You’re chasing the sugar rush, and your life is not getting any better.
Right now, there are two categories of counterfeits that are absolutely devastating young men’s hardwiring, subverting their natural inclinations to compete in the real world.
And perfectly-legal corporations are making gazillions over exploiting that glitch in human nature.
Think you know which two we mean?
Maybe.
Maybe not.
The real answer might surprise you.
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While you’re at it, here’s Doug’s latest book:
Lionhearted: Making Young Christian Males Rowdy Biblical Men
Dear young Christian male, this book you’re about to read is meant to challenge you to your very core. Its intent is not to make you feel warm and fuzzy. Some of the chapters will upset you greatly, especially if you’re a dandy who was raised with kid gloves by a helicopter mommy.
That said, in addition to the holy introspection contained herein, this book will also shoot adrenaline into your soul. It’ll push you to be a Godly risk taker and earth shaker. A veritable Rebel With A Cause just like the Captain of Our Salvation, the Lord Jesus Christ.
If you want a feel-good book that tickles your ears and morphs you into a little Christian popinjay, this tome ain’t for you. You should put this book down and walk away from it immediately. However, if, young man, if … your motto is to give God your utmost for His highest, and you wanna live a life worthy of Christ’s death, then this book will be grist for your mill.
Get your copy of Lionhearted: Making Young Christian Males Rowdy Biblical Men TODAY!
