Most people think dopamine equals pleasure. They’re wrong—and that mistake keeps us stuck on the hedonic treadmill.
In this episode, Dr. Jud Brewer reveals why excitement isn’t happiness, how anxiety hijacks the brain through habit loops, and why willpower fails almost every time.
Founders and high performers will learn how to stop chasing the dopamine treadmill, rewire their brains using awareness, and replace worry with curiosity—a superpower that rewires habits faster than any hack.
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Learn more about our guest:
https://www.goingbeyondanxiety.com/
https://judbrewer.substack.com/
https://drjud.com/
Chapters:
00:00 – Intro
02:00 – Who is Dr. Jud Brewer?
05:00 – Childhood, Montessori and curiosity
09:00 – Curiosity and learning in kids (with AI)
12:00 – The turning point: stress, IBS, meditation
17:00 – Reinforcement learning explained simply
20:00 – What dopamine really does
25:00 – Why billionaires mistake excitement for happiness
28:00 – The path to true happiness (Eudaimonia)
30:00 – Anxiety as a habit loop
34:00 – Why willpower doesn’t work for anxiety
40:00 – How awareness rewires habits
44:00 – Breaking the social media loop
52:00 – Curiosity as a superpower against worry
56:00 – Two types of curiosity: deprivation vs. interest
59:00 – Growth mindset vs. fixed mindset in founders
1:02:00 – The three steps to break any bad habit
1:08:00 – Can AI therapy replace human therapists?
1:15:00 – Molecules vs mindfulness: future of self-control
1:20:00 – Why simplicity beats complexity in therapy
1:26:00 – What is consciousness?
1:28:00 – Neuroscience of enlightenment
1:34:00 – The ultimate question humanity must ask
1:37:00 – Closing thoughts & reflections
