#3 Building Momentum Without Waiting for Motivation

What if motivation isn’t something you summon—but something you design for?

Stop waiting for a mood to move you. We dig into a practical, science-aligned approach to building momentum that doesn’t collapse when motivation dips. Drawing on insights from Dr. Andrew Hubberman’s work on dopamine, we translate neuroscience into simple, repeatable levers you can use today. The aim isn’t hacks for hacks’ sake—it’s designing an environment where action feels obvious and sustainable. In fact, the core idea today is that adaptable systems and compassionate rituals outlast moods.

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Chapters

• 0:00 New Website And Tools
• 2:21 Why Motivation Is Unreliable
• 3:48 Dopamine Basics And Focus
• 5:25 Five Ways To Boost Dopamine
• 9:11 Use High Motivation To Build Systems
• 12:05 Adaptable Structures Beat Willpower
• 15:45 Show Up Imperfectly For Five Minutes
• 18:20 Pivot Tasks To Keep Momentum
• 21:05 Rest Without Quitting

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:07

Hello, my dear passengers, and welcome aboard to Self-Growth Train, a podcast that combines personal stories, opinions, and research in order to better guide you through your self-growth journey. My name is Frances Juaniti Vera Macheco, and I am your tour guy. First, I just want to say thank you for tuning back for another episode. If you haven't had a chance already, and I know I've mentioned this in the last two episodes, please go check out the new website created by Carrie McCutcheon. You can find it at the self-growth tradepodcast.com. My dear passengers, the reason that I am so excited about this new website is that Carrie brought into my life the three tools. Yes, I said that right. Three tools that I have been dreaming about for my website. And the first tool is the blog. This is where you go to read about the latest episode. I understand that we might not have time to sit down and listen to an episode, but you might have time to sit down for a quick read to gain some insight into what the topic of the week is and how it can help you in your self-growth journey. Having said that, the second tool is the calendar. The calendar is where I will be letting you know what episodes are coming next and what topics are being discussed. This is important because when it comes to self-growth, we might not all be in the same journey. We might not all be focusing on the same things that we want to work on ourselves. So that way you get an inside scoop into what is coming and you get to decide, hmm, I really, really need to listen to this episode right now. Or you can say, you know what, I can send this episode to somebody else because I'm currently not going through this situation. Last but not least, and actually most importantly, the third tool is the forum. This is where you can go after the podcast episode and write back to me your journal prompt answers. This is very important because this year, one of my goals, besides becoming self-disciplined and consistent, is building community with you, my dear passengers. So please make sure you check out the website and please make sure that you interact with it because I am so excited to meet you. Without further ado, here's today's episode. Welcome aboard, my dear passengers. Today's episode title is Building Momentum Without Waiting for Motivation. My dear passengers, today's episode is a love letter to myself. Because if there's something that I know about myself, I am the most determined, passionate, and motivated individual that I've ever met in my life. And I know what you're thinking, my dear passengers. I know what you're thinking. For instance, if this is the case, why do you have this podcast? Why are you even making this episode? Shouldn't you already have it figured out? No. And here is why. And please keep this in mind throughout this whole episode and after the episode. When it comes to motivation, motivation is emotional. It is inconsistent and it's unreliable. But today's episode, we're going to be talking about how to increase our dopamine levels because dopamine levels do go hand in hand with motivation, right? We're going to be talking about what to do when our motivation is high and how to make sure that we're really capitalizing on those moments, right? And last but not least, we're going to be talking about what to do when our motivation has dropped, but we still want to work on those goals that are helping us become the person that we're striving to become. For today's episode, I went online and I was like, okay, I need somebody that knows exactly what they were talking about, but I need somebody that is scientifically driven. Because I feel like motivation is something that needs to be really studied and discussed on a scientific level. And actually, it has been discussed on a scientific level. But today I want to bring a blog post written by Dr. Andrew Hooverman. Now, if you don't know who Dr. Andrew Hooverman is, he is a globally renowned neuroscientist and podcaster. So if you want to check out his podcast, it's called the Hooverman Lab, where he discusses the latest things in science, especially when it comes to the brain. But for today, we're going to be dissecting one of his blog posts. This one is titled Tools to Manage Dopamine and Improve Motivation and Drive. So let's dive deep into it. You probably remember that I mentioned dopamine at the beginning of this episode. And it's because dopamine is a brain molecule that is closely linked to our sense of motivation. In fact, when we have high levels or normal levels of dopamine, we have a depth of focus in which we're able to work on our goals. But when we have low levels of dopamine, especially when we have extremely low levels of dopamine, that is when we stop taking action towards our goals because we just don't feel motivated. But one of the things that Dr. Huberman discusses on his blog post is how to increase your dopamine levels. In fact, he tells us five ways we can increase our dopamine levels. The first thing he tells us to do is to view early morning sunlight for 10 to 30 minutes, as this can naturally increase our dopamine levels. He even suggests that you can take a one to three minute shower, but it has to be cold because this also increases the baseline dopamine for hours dramatically. The second way he tells us that we can do this is by incorporating tyrosine-rich foods into our diet. Now, for those of you that don't know, tyrozyne is an amino acid and a building block of dopamine. When you have a diet that is rich in tyrosine, it means that it will sustain your body's natural dopamine production. Some examples of these foods include red meats, nuts, and hard fermented cheese. However, he does state that if you have a plant-based diet, there are options for you. It's just you need to research them. The third thing he tells us is that we should avoid melatonin supplements because they disrupt our natural sleep pattern. Having said that, and I didn't know that, I learned that because of this blog post. Apparently, melatonin supplements are only supposed to be recommended for jet lag, not for other issues. So definitely take that into consideration because if you are like me, you've probably taken melatonin supplements before because you want to go to sleep and your body is saying na na. But we might be hindering our ability to create dopamine because of this. So let's do better. The fourth way is to avoid viewing bright lights between 10 p.m. and 4 a.m. Now he does make a note. He says that if you're a shift worker or you want to know how to deal with jet lag, you need to listen to one of his other episodes. But overall, what he does say is that it is essential for you to stop looking at bright lights from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. Because it has been shown that it activates a brain region called habenula and it drastically reduces the amount of circulating dopamine in your system. So, therefore, if you do have to be under light or around light, please make it dim if possible. Once in a while, it's okay to have bright lights, but don't make it a habit because it will make your body pay for it. And we don't want that. The fifth and last way he tells us that we can increase our dopamine has to do with caffeine. Now I'm going to make a note here. If you're currently going to a doctor that tells you not to take caffeine for whatever health issues you have, please listen to your doctor. This is for the average person, a person that doesn't have specific medical issues that are affected by caffeine. Okay. So that is the note that I wanted to make. But essentially, the fifth thing that Dr. Hooverman tells us is that you should ingest 100 to 400 milligrams of caffeine every day. Why? Because this mildly increases your dopamine level, but it also increases the availability of dopamine receptors. However, he does say that usually he does not do any caffeine after 2 p.m. if he can avoid it. This is very important. You don't want to take caffeine when you're getting closer to go to bed or closer to afternoon time because you don't want to hype up yourself, right? So again, if you have medical issues that require less caffeine, please disregard this. This is more towards an overall way of increasing your dopamine levels, not taking into consideration medical background. Okay, now this is where it gets really good because we just learned how to increase our dopamine levels. That way we can increase our motivation. So what do we do when our motivation is leveled or high? Well, my dear passengers, we focus on making sure that the systems and structures that we have set up for ourselves continue to be maintained. Like when you are highly motivated, that is the time to make sure to show up and do a little bit more than you would usually do. What do I mean by this? Well, let's use the podcast as an example. So right now, my goal is to post weekly, right? So when I'm highly motivated, what I do is that I record not just one episode, I might record one or two episodes to make sure that I have a backup episode. Why? Because there might be a week where I'm not feeling up for it or I might have trips. Like in January, I'm gonna give you, I'm gonna give you guys a little insight thing, okay? This episode was recorded on January 3rd, and it's coming out on January 20th, I think. Yes, so I did this on purpose. Why? Because I'm super motivated, and I also know that I have three trips coming up in January, and I want to make sure that I stay aligned with my goal and that I consistently show up even when it's not the way that I would want it to look like. Again, I'm showing up imperfectly. My dear passengers, I'm gonna make a quick pause here and now because this is important, okay? When you develop systems and structures, it is the same way that we treat goals, smart goals, okay? Smart goals are adaptable and they're flexible. The same thing applies to systems and structures. If at any point after you have developed your system or designed your system, you realize, oh my gosh, I can't, I can't no longer give 30 hours a week to my goal. I can now only give 10 hours a week. That's not a failure. That's an observation that you can work with and you can actually make something good out of because you're able to be influenced by the reality of your current life. Okay. And it's important for us to stop along the way and say, hey, let me check in. Is this working out for me? If it's not working out for me, it doesn't have anything to do with my motivation. It has to do with my inability to see the opportunity for adaptability and flexibility. And the only way to fix this is to literally stop, observe, and change. That's it. That's the note that I wanted to make. Now let's get back to what I was saying before. Anyway, anywho, anyhow, as I was saying, when you're motivated, you need to make sure that you're doing a little bit more. And if you like numbers, let me put it this way: do 1% more than you usually would. If you're able to give 25%, if you're able to give 50% and you feel up for it because your motivation level is super high, go for it. But for now, make the promise that whenever you're feeling motivated, you're going to go 1% more than you usually would. Okay. Having said that, what about when we're not motivated? What about when we are passionate about our projects, our goals, our ideas, but the motivation, the energy, the focus just won't come our way. What do we do? Well, my dear passengers, the first thing you have to do is show up. You need to show up imperfectly. If you can only work on your goal for five minutes today, because that is all you can give, go for it and clap your hands for yourself. Give yourself that self-compassion and that self-understanding because we are not always going to be motivated. We're not always going to be at our best capacity. But whatever capacity we are at currently, we need to show up and make something out of it. Again, I'm not asking for big ideas, I'm not asking for big discoveries. I'm asking you to show up for yourself where you're at right now, imperfectly, and make something out of it. And my dear passengers, if you do five minutes and the five minutes don't quote unquote work into making you feel more energized, more inspired, more aligned with what you're working on, it's okay. It can happen. That's nothing bad, that's nothing to be ashamed of. But when those moments happen, let's try two other things that I'm going to tell you because they will be helping you on different aspects of the goals that you're working on, but overall on the person that you're working towards becoming. So let's dive right into it. First way is to pivot. That's right. Sometimes when we're so focused on our goal and so focused on creating something specific, it prevents us from seeing possibilities elsewhere. Okay. So let me give you an example. Again, I usually use the podcast because it's the best example. I am currently recording in Puerto Rico. I don't live in Puerto Rico. It is where I am originally from. But while I'm on my trip, right, I decided I want to record four episodes. That way I am set for the first month of the year. Having said that, there have been moments where I sit down to record an episode and I just don't feel motivated. I don't feel inspired. So instead, I'm like, okay, what else can I work on? I'm like, okay, let's work on making short reels. Let's work on making captions. Let's work on finding what hashtags work best to finding my audience. Let's work on the website. Let's work in the newsletter. Let's work on the book. All of these things are aligned to my overall SMART goal with the podcast. In fact, by pivoting, I'm able to look at my goals with the podcast as something all encompassing. I'm not just thinking about the episodes, I'm thinking about how else I can positively impact my community. And by pivoting my attention, I'm keeping myself motivated because I'm finding areas of opportunity that maybe I haven't considered before or I have considered before, but I have decided not to focus on it because I was motivated to work on something else. Okay, Francis, I tried pivoting and that also didn't work. What else do you have for me? Let me tell you, the second tool that I have for you is simply stopping and resting. Give it a rest. Let go of that goal for a little bit. You're not quitting, you're not giving up, you are resting. And my dear passengers, I've done this multiple times with the podcast. You guys know this. I will disappear for months, okay? And then come back super recharged, super motivated. Sometimes you need that. Sometimes life is hard, sometimes life is very overwhelming. Sometimes life is full of things that we cannot control. So why not be self-compassionate with ourselves and say, you know what? You're going through a lot. Let's take a bit of rest. We're not giving up. We're just saying, I'm going to sit down for a bit and I'm going to enjoy what's happening right in front of me. And when you least suspect it, you will find inspiration. Because with me, with this podcast, the times that I've taken a rest from the podcast, whether it be three months, six months, eight months, a year, I have come back to the podcast to welcoming the space. I know that the podcast is something that I'm very passionate about. It's something that I feel called to do. Like my dear passengers, I don't think you guys understand the calling that I feel with this podcast. I know I'm meant to be doing this podcast. I know I'm meant to be doing this work. But, you know, in those moments where I can't handle the podcast, I go back and I listen to episodes. Because I love hearing myself talk about how passionate I am about the podcast. It reminds me why I'm doing this. It reminds me that even though I'm not actively working on it, it's still something that means a lot to me and that I am proud that is out there helping other people find their way. So all this to say, I know that motivation can be very powerful. But what's even more powerful is knowing that taking care of yourself is essential. As much as I want you to achieve your goals, I also want you to take care of yourself. And if that means taking a pause, if that means stopping for an unlimited amount of time until you're able to retake your project, your passion, your goal, do it. Gently yourself, you deserve it. You see, my dear passenger, the main message today is that growth doesn't come from never losing momentum, it comes from building something that survives low motivation. Let me be very clear that your rituals, your structures, your systems, your routines are greater, greater than your motivation, which means that when you are motivated, you need to do one percent more. That's all that I'm asking you for. One percent more. And when you have low motivation, I'm asking you to show up for five minutes. Just five minutes. Five minutes where you can get started, do something towards your goals. I'm not asking you to give a thousand percent. I'm literally asking you to give one percent because I know you can do it. And last but not least, I need you to have self compassion. Keep in mind you're human, keep in mind that life is hard, keep in mind that things are going to happen, that you're not going to have control. Stop relying on your energy. Level on your dopamine on your motivation in order to work on your goals. Work on your goals at your own pace, but make sure you show up imperfectly because that is the first step. That is the first step to make every dream come true and every goal achievable. My dear passengers, let me give you the journal prompt of the day. So go ahead and grab your notebooks and grab your pens because this one is a good one. Are you ready? If I trusted that motivation comes after action, what's one small step I will take today? Let me read it again for the people in the back. If I trusted that motivation comes after action, what's one small step I take today? Can I get a shushu? Well, my dear passengers, that was the end of the episode. And I know what you're thinking, Francis. That was good. That was amazing. What do you have for me next? Well, let me tell you, next week we're going to be talking about, we're going to be talking about consistency. And we're going to be talking about consistency as self-trust and not streaks. So make sure you tune in next week because this episode is definitely gonna be a really good one. As always, all the resources used today have been added to the episode's description. Well, until the next up, dear passengers, safe travels. Bye!