Dopamine is having a moment of late. Conversations abound regarding the "feel good" hormone. It's released when we do something enjoyable or reach an achievement milestone. That "rush" is something most folx can relate to, and many folx continue to chase through various decisions. It also has the ability to reinforce habits and lead us to repeat them. When these habits are positive, we reap the benefits. However, when those habits are negative, we struggle to get off the hedonic treadmill.
Ultimately, one of the main reasons it's so hard to break bad habits is that our brains our biased towards them due to the positive dopamine response we've received in the past. As we consider how unconscious biases impact our behavior and interactions with others, we must consider them as bad habits to a degree. We've previously received a positive response to adhering to those biases, often without even realizing it, and interrupting those biases means interrupting a steady stream of dopamine. This is, of course, in addition to the conscious rewards that come along with expressing biases, such as greater acceptance in social and cultural spaces.
What's perhaps even more interesting, though, is that even after the external (conscious) reward is removed, we continue to engage in the behavior. The dopamine is still flowing. This helps to explain why habits are so hard to break and biases are so hard to shake.
Thus, if we want to begin interrupting our unconscious biases, not only do we need to identify them, but also look for opportunities to substitute new behavior that will deliver that same hit of dopamine. This also means making changes to the social and cultural spaces we occupy, which have traditionally reinforced those biased beliefs.
Have you considered your biases? Have you made attempts to interrupt them? Everyone has a unique experience but we all grow by consciously being in community with one another!
