Prof. Dr. Haytham Eloqayli

In this article, I will attempt to answer some of the questions I raised in the previous article, which essentially revolve around how young people and older individuals can achieve a better life filled with passion, flavor, and color.

It seems that the human brain is not vastly different in its programming from other living beings. Consequently, it is fundamentally driven by striving, competition, struggle, and fighting to ensure the survival and reproduction of the individual. In other words, the brain is deeply designed for pursuit, not for winning the prize. Winning a prize brings transient happiness and pleasure that quickly fades, whereas the pursuit of goals provides repeated pleasure, keeping the individual in a state of motion and striving, ensuring the ability to survive.

Examples of this can be seen in adventurers who constantly seek out difficult challenges that give them the thrill of the chase. Once they achieve a goal, they immediately search for another. This is also evident in stock market trading, where the player aims to win but does not stop whether they win or lose, because the pleasure lies in the pursuit of victory. Similarly, we see this in the pursuit of fame, exhibitionism, and risky driving among young people. Everyone is chasing a goal or prize, such as gaining attention and social recognition (within their community). This recognition is short-lived and does not end with achieving it; instead, it becomes a motivation to pursue anew.

Even some politicians, who are often viewed by society as the most emotionally capable of self-control, are partly driven by the desire to attract media attention and public admiration. This is more evident in the West, where media and public opinion play a decisive role in politics.

All of the above is clearly reflected in the structure of the human brain at the level of neural connections and chemical balances. The human brain constantly seeks to release dopamine, which provides attention, motivation, strength, and the ability to challenge. On the other hand, the release of chemicals that induce happiness, such as endorphins, oxytocin, and serotonin, is strong but short-lived. For example, when a goal is achieved, there is an intense and powerful joy, but the brain does not allow it to last long. Instead, it is followed by boredom and emptiness, prompting the individual to seek pursuit again and release dopamine.

Major companies operate with this understanding of the individual. Social media, for instance, is designed to release dopamine through the act of scrolling, which is a form of pursuit. However, it does not allow the brain to stop and focus deeply on any single topic. Similarly, production companies aim for consumption and increased consumption. Most advertisements increase dopamine levels, and once a consumer buys a product, they immediately start searching for another, even if they do not need it. The intelligence of these companies lies in exploiting the brain's tendency for pursuit rather than winning. If people were satisfied with winning a single product, the operations of these companies would halt or decline.

Even in daily life, a significant portion of young people desire relationships but do not want to commit to them. This is part of the dopamine-driven pursuit of winning the prize and then seeking pursuit again.

I previously mentioned an example that illustrates the power of dopamine (striving and pursuit) in the case of a suitor and a married person. A suitor, upon receiving a simple request from their fiancée, is driven by the brain to release large amounts of dopamine, motivating them to go the extra mile, stay alert, and ignore fatigue to fulfill even a small request. However, after marriage (winning the prize) and the fading of dopamine triggers, the same person, now married, may find it burdensome to fetch a simple item from the next room unless there is a mechanism to re-stimulate dopamine.

Therefore, the ability to move through life passionately lies in pursuing goals that are constantly renewed and achievable. In other words, it is about having hope, not just achieving it.

However, the brain categorizes goals into abstract and valuable ones. The former provides strong dopamine bursts but does not last long, requiring larger bursts over time, which we call addiction. The latter provides balanced bursts accompanied by other chemicals in a balanced manner, resulting in what we call contentment, peace of mind, or a longer-lasting form of happiness.

To clarify, purely material goals such as money, fame, exhibitionism, consumption, social media, drugs, and women are all abstract goals for the brain unless they are given meaning and value. Consequently, they require repetition and even increased dopamine bursts to achieve the same effect. This can be observed in the behavior of some celebrities, drug addicts, stock traders, social media users, individuals in transient relationships, those undergoing cosmetic procedures, or those engaging in risky behaviors, especially among teenagers and young adults whose dopamine levels are at their peak. I even see this in political, economic, and cultural cases that I analyze daily from the media.

On the other hand, the regulator of striving, fighting, competition, and pursuit in the brain is the value of goals. Throughout history, those with valuable goals, even if only from their own perspective, were more capable of enduring suffering and enjoying the pursuit of their goals, even if it led to their demise. The brain elevates the value and meaning of goals, as the ultimate goal is survival, reproduction, and material or symbolic immortality.

To avoid prolonging this, I will explain in the next article how to benefit from this in social life and give life flavor. I believe that societies and institutions have utilized these facts for marketing, aligning ranks, and even controlling masses, shaping impressions, and altering their members' perception of reality instead of allowing them to strive to change reality.