Intentionally blunting the reward response for intermediate achievements can help maintain pursuit of long-term goals.

“because in doing that you keep your dopamine system in check and you ensure that you're gonna stay on the path of continued pursuit not just for that thing, but for all things”

“Now, this dopamine reward prediction error, as it's called, can be leveraged toward trying to reach our goals because it tells us where we should set our milestones. We can't be in a mode of simply being focused on the finish line.”

“as you are staircasing toward your goal you actually want to blunt the reward response for some of those intermediate goals”

“to actually actively blunt the reward to not go and celebrate too intensely because in doing that you keep your dopamine system in check and you ensure that you're going to stay on the path of continued Pursuit”

“Now, this dopamine reward prediction error, as it's called, can be leveraged toward trying to reach our goals because it tells us where we should set our milestones. We can't be in a mode of simply being focused on the finish line.”