New products and ideas may be appealing due to their exploratory nature, but sometimes hinder progress towards desired outcomes.
The human brain is wired to seek novelty, often driven by the desire for a dopamine rush. This neurological reward system can make new products and ideas particularly appealing.
A study published in Neuron found that dopaminergic novelty processing – a term describing the brain’s response to new stimuli – makes new products or services difficult to resist. This applies equally to new diets, workout plans, or longevity enhancements.
It has also been observed that the more complex something sounds – such as a comprehensive, multi-step morning routine – the more likely it is believed to be effective, despite scientific evidence supporting simpler approaches.
In essence, humans are predisposed to reject the ordinary. Familiar routines may be functional, but they are also neurologically uninteresting. The hippocampus craves the dopamine rush associated with discovering new methods.
Particularly enticing are novel and extreme approaches, even though their complexity often hinders long-term adherence.
While new ideas can be beneficial, novelty without purpose is unproductive. High-achieving individuals possess a clear understanding of both long-term and short-term objectives. These goals serve as a foundation for all actions.
Such individuals exhibit dedication, organization, and focus. Their success is not attributed to rigid routines or impulsive reactions to new stimuli, but to a determined pursuit of goals and the efficient elimination of obstacles.
For entrepreneurs, building a successful business is the ultimate objective. Systems and tools facilitate sales, marketing, fulfillment, and operations. If existing processes are effective, they should be maintained, improved, and optimized.
Dopamine, often misunderstood, is a reward released by the brain upon goal achievement or progress. This neurotransmitter enhances motivation and satisfaction. The key is not discovery, but accomplishment.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16880131
Abstract
Novelty exploration can enhance hippocampal plasticity in animals through dopaminergic neuromodulation arising in the substantia nigra/ventral tegmental area (SN/VTA). This enhancement can outlast the exploration phase by several minutes. Currently, little is known about dopaminergic novelty processing and its relationship to hippocampal function in humans. In two functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies, SN/VTA activations in humans were indeed driven by stimulus novelty rather than other forms of stimulus salience such as rareness, negative emotional valence, or targetness of familiar stimuli, whereas hippocampal responses were less selective. SN/VTA novelty responses were scaled according to absolute rather than relative novelty in a given context, unlike adaptive SN/VTA responses recently reported for reward outcome in animal studies. Finally, novelty enhanced learning and perirhinal/parahippocampal processing of familiar items presented in the same context. Thus, the human SN/VTA can code absolute stimulus novelty and might contribute to enhancing learning in the context of novelty.
