Hi, My Name is Eli and I Am Addicted to Dopamine...

Introduction

Most of us love the rush of starting something new. A new job, a new project, a new business idea, or even a new workout routine feels exciting and alive. But what happens after the honeymoon phase wears off? For me, that is when boredom shows up. And boredom has been the quiet force that has capped me in work, business, boxing, and personal growth.

What I have come to realize is that I am not just “bad with consistency.” I am addicted to novelty, which is another way of saying I am addicted to dopamine. And boredom is not just an annoying feeling. It is actually the withdrawal symptom of that addiction. Once I saw it that way, everything changed.

Why Novelty Addiction Feels So Good at First

Novelty feels incredible because it spikes dopamine. That chemical hit makes me sharp, motivated, and optimistic. Whether it is a new role at work, a fresh business venture, or a new drill in boxing, I feel unstoppable.

But dopamine is temporary. Once the novelty wears off, the chemical rush fades. That is when the plateau shows up. Progress feels slower. Energy dips. Tasks feel repetitive. Instead of seeing this as part of growth, I always interpreted it as being capped.

How Boredom is Really Dopamine Withdrawal

This is where Allen Carr’s approach hit me hard. He explains that you are already peaceful by default. The craving, whether for nicotine, alcohol, or anything else, tricks you into believing you have lost that peace. You think, “I need this cigarette to calm down.” But the truth is that the craving itself created the discomfort, and the cigarette only removes the craving. The peace was always there underneath.

That is exactly how boredom works with novelty. I am already fine. Then the novelty high fades, and withdrawal hits. It shows up as restlessness, frustration, and emptiness. My brain says, “You need a new spark to get back to peace.” I restart something, the craving disappears, and I think, “That was the right move.” But all I did was reset the cycle. I sold my peace for temporary relief.

The Plateau Problem: Why We Quit Too Soon

Boredom is a scam. It convinces me that peace is gone and that the only way to get it back is through something new. But the truth is, peace was never gone. Boredom is not failure. It is simply dopamine withdrawal. If I sit with it long enough, it fades, and my natural calm returns.

The problem is that every time I let boredom trick me, I restart. And every restart means I never get to see what is on the other side of the plateau. I have walked away from promotions and trust at work. I have abandoned business traction before it could scale. I have skipped the grind in boxing that makes fundamentals automatic. Boredom has been stealing both my peace and my growth.

Breaking the Cycle of Restarting

The flip is simple. Boredom is not proof that I am stuck. It is withdrawal trying to scam me. I do not need novelty to get peace back, because I already have peace underneath the craving. If I do not restart and instead ride it out, the craving fades and I finally get to see what lies beyond the plateau. That is where mastery, compounding, and depth live.

Conclusion

For most of my life, I thought boredom was proof something was wrong with me or with the situation I was in. Now I see it for what it really is: withdrawal from novelty. The craving makes me believe I have lost peace, when in reality the peace was always there.

My work now is not chasing excitement. It is sitting with boredom long enough to see through it. It is refusing to sell my peace for another hit of novelty. Because once I can walk through boredom instead of running from it, I will finally break the cycle that has capped me in every area of my life.