You’ve herd the saying that it’s about the journey not about the destination so many times and you probably have some experiential proof for it. You may even hold it as one of the rules to live by and that’s a good thing, since it’s not just pretty words or a consoling maxim to help you get over the rough patches as you’re working towards something meaningful and worthwhile. It’s not just a band aid and a compassionate tap on the shoulder but is biologically and neurologically true.

There is a certain magic in “maybe”. The reason why we do anything at all, the fuel propelling our motivation forward is dopamine, the feel good chemical that governs the reward system in the brain. You would presume that dopamine rises when some external reward is given. This is true only for random rewards that required no previous action to obtain and this pleasure is short lived because it is in its essence meaningless and not earned. Once the reward system of the brain is connected to a series of action that lead to a goal, it all shifts. In that moment the signal that the path towards an outside reward (you find worthy) has begun spikes dopamine and it stays high all the way through performing the actions that are necessary to gain the external reward, sustaining motivation while you’re chasing the goal. You are rewarded by pleasure for each step completed not just the final prize. The attainment of the outside reward itself is actually less important and shows lover dopamine levels. It’s about the anticipation, not the reward. This is why people get flabbergasted when, instead of feeling victorious or proud after finishing large demanding project, feel empty, depressed and lost. Because the process of working towards it and learning along the way was more precious and fulfilling. External reward just signals the end of this mission and you’re compelled to go out and find another one. We need thing to work towards. It’s the source of most of our motivation. This is all fine and dandy but an even stranger thin happens when intermittency is introduced. If the probability of an external reward is not guaranteed you’d expect some frustration and lowered motivation, right? Well’ the opposite happens – The dopamine skyrockets far more than when the reward is certain. When there is a “maybe” involved, where a chance of failure is entirely possible, we don’t cry into our cereal (don’t eat cereal) about it but we buckle down and work that much harder. Why? No one knows exactly, but the most plausible explanation is that we were wired to fight and explore, to try and discover rather to just be safe, comfortable and lazy. The possibility of failure raises the stakes, makes us more alert and that much more willing to grind at something to beat the odds. Whoever built Vegas and the first person who swindled card trick at the street corner knew of our proclivity to love us some risk and the motivation that drives us to try harder when we could lose, when the external reward might not be received at all.

It’s the trill of the chase, the moment when your eyes sparkle and you say “Challenge accepted” and feel empowered and motivated, energetic, competent and alive. How incredibly boring would it be if everything was just given and guaranteed, if there were no maybes no chase, no imperative to try and work for something. We would all cosy ourselves into complacency and passivity inventing auto destructive personal hells just so that something even remotely interesting or engaging would happen. Generations and individuals who’ve had to struggle for something evolve into those who appreciate the value of things and are overall more emotionally and mentally stable well rounded persons and communities. Accept the challenge, cherish the journeys, just start even if there are no guarantees. Your chemistry will take care of keeping you motivated if you choose a goal you really care about. It cannot do anything than be in its nature, and neither can you, well, not long-term anyway. Find what is good and work for it. Trying and failing is far better for your person than never having tried at all.