Translated by AI

Overcoming Life's Obstacles with Six Substances: From Procrastination and Anxiety to Happiness and Confidence

Life doesn’t come with a clear manual, but each of us carries an intrinsic energy dashboard. This invisible dashboard lacks numbers or light bars, yet it silently influences our emotions, motivation, and decisions every day.

Behind it, there's a symphony of six chemical substances: dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, cortisol, endorphins, and testosterone. They aren't just cold, scientific terms but comrades fighting side by side, each with unique attributes and tasks.

Six Comrades, Six Attributes

• Dopamine → The motivation attribute drives your desires and initiates actions, much like a "mission prompt sound" in games.
• Oxytocin → The relationship attribute fosters trust and a sense of security, akin to a nurturing healer in a team, so you're not alone in battle.
• Serotonin → The stability attribute offers balance and contentment, like a game's "defense ability," helping you maintain a long-term state.
• Cortisol → The stress attribute serves as an alarm during threatening situations, enhancing short-term combat ability but needing caution in excess.
• Endorphins → The pleasure attribute reduces pain and brings joy, like a game's "healing skill," allowing laughter amidst adversity.
• Testosterone → The courage attribute imparts confidence and decision-making, resembling a frontline warrior leading the charge for a crucial strike.

These substances don't operate in isolation but like different characters in a team, requiring cooperation. When they coordinate harmoniously, we feel fulfilled, stable, and empowered, but when imbalanced, life resembles a debilitated game character, struggling through obstacles.

Four Observation Methods to Decode Your Energy Dashboard

1. Today’s Status Indicator
   In games, health and mana bars indicate whether a character can continue fighting. In life, we have "energy bars" too, albeit less visible. Spend some time daily to reflect: Where is my motivation today? Are my emotions stable? Do I yearn for companionship? These are indicators of the six substances at work. Imagine them as six colored lights, some bright, others dim, representing your day’s state. The first step to observation is not to change, but to "comprehend" your body’s messages.
2. Triggers
   Each substance has specific triggers, akin to different mission activation points in games. For instance: 15 minutes of sun exposure can activate serotonin, providing equilibrium; completing a small task triggers dopamine with a "task accomplished" alert; during hugs or sincere conversations, oxytocin gently fills your sense of safety. Triggers aren't mysteries but embedded in daily details. Knowing which behaviors elevate which energy bars allows for proactive life design rather than awaiting random rewards.
3. Cool-Down Periods
   Games impose limits on powerful moves, mirrored in real life. Prolonged high-pressure work without breaks keeps cortisol levels elevated until burnout ensues. After major projects, don’t rush into another task; provide yourself a cooling period to let endorphins and serotonin gradually restore, stabilizing emotions and motivation. Cooling off isn’t wasted time; it's necessary recovery, akin to breathing cycles—without pauses, full effort isn’t possible.
4. Misuse Pitfalls
   Some treasures in games appear enticing but are traps. Similarly, "happiness traps" exist in life. For example, pleasure from short video scrolls exhausts dopamine; dependency on sweets for comfort disrupts serotonin’s natural balance; excessive bravado to display confidence can backfire from testosterone overload, causing impulsivity or harm.

Discern between "genuine aid" and "fleeting illusion," where the former promotes stability and durability, while the latter offers fleeting consumable pleasure. Familiarize yourself with these four observation methods, and you’ll find your body continuously sending signals. Understanding your energy dashboard allows quicker decisions on when to sprint, rest, seek company, or guard against pitfalls.

Life Cannot Be Rushed, But It Can Be Designed

Grasping the six substances isn’t to discover a miraculous immediate life-changer but to remind us: happiness and motivation don’t occur overnight—they accumulate through everyday habits.

Regular sleep, warm interactions, walks in sunlight, and focused deep breaths—these simple actions offer the most stable support.

True support, akin to bricks steadily building a foundation, strengthens over time; while "pseudo-help" resembles fleeting fireworks, temporarily dazzling but quickly extinguished, leaving anxiety and void. Life doesn’t change from momentary excitement, but by consciously integrating reliable support into daily life, enabling lasting energy.

When viewing the six substances as allies, you’ll realize life's challenges aren’t merely due to lack of willpower but an unbalanced energy dashboard. Learn to observe, adjust, and design, transitioning from merely reacting to energy to mastering life’s design.

Next, we’ll individually unveil the six role cards to understand these influential allies and learn to battle alongside them.