This afternoon, I took a few quiet minutes to listen to Michael E. Long’s Taming the Molecule of More. It spoke to me in a world where we are constantly urged to seek more: through endless notifications and dopamine-driven environments.
Long’s reminder is clear: dopamine is not happiness. It is the drive for novelty, the restless anticipation of “just around the corner.” And I could not agree more.
“From dopamine’s point of view, having things is uninteresting. It’s only getting things that matters.”
That is why the joy of finally reaching a goal often fades so quickly. Dopamine doesn’t let us rest: it pushes us back to the chase.
It takes maturity to step away from that treadmill. To stop measuring life by the next conquest, and instead anchor ourselves in purpose. For me, the art of presence begins with self-acceptance. When we embrace who we are, flaws included, the need to endlessly chase a future that loses its meaning on arrival begins to fall away.
The most beautiful future is not where we possess more, but where we give more. Where our energy adds value to others.
Life becomes richer when our motto is no longer “More,” but “Enough. And meaningful.”
Smile and Let Smile 