The Molecule of More

THE MOLECULE OF MORE

in  motivating us  to  dominate our  environment, we  can  find  a  better 
explanation.
Winning competitions, along with eating and having sex, is essen-
tial for evolutionary success. In fact, it’s winning competitions that gives
us access to food and reproductive partners. As a result, it’s not surpris-
ing that winning competitions releases dopamine. It’s the rush of plea-
sure  we  feel  when we  send the  tennis ball  flying over  the  net,  get  a  good 
grade on a test, or receive praise from our boss. The surge of dopamine
feels good, but  it’s  different from a  surge of H&N pleasure, which is  a 
surge of satisfaction. And that  difference is  key:  the  dopamine surge 
triggered by winning leaves us wanting more.

WINNING TO KEEP FROM LOSING

It’s not enough to win the Tour de France. It’s not enough to win it twice
or even seven times. Winning is never enough. Nothing is ever enough
for dopamine. It is the pursuit that matters, and the victory, but there is
no finish line, and never will be. Winning, like drugs, can be addictive.
Yet  the  pleasurable rush  that  never satisfies is  only  half of the  equa-
tion. The other half is the dopamine crash that feels so awful.
Every year, physicians in  Washington, DC,  fill  out  a  ballot in  which 
they vote for the best doctors in a variety of medical specialties. The
results are published in the Washingtonian magazine’s famous Top  Doc 
issue. It’s their best-selling issue. Being named a Top Doc is an honor,
and it feels nice. Your colleagues see it, your friends and family see it,
everybody sees  it.  After the  glow of satisfaction wears off,  though, an 
uncomfortable question comes up: Will I make it next year? All the people
who congratulated me—what will they think when my name disappears from the list?
No one stays on the list forever; how will I bear the humiliation of being dropped?
No one likes to lose, but it’s ten times as bad after you win. When you
open the  magazine expecting to  see  your name and  it’s  not  there, you 
get an unpleasant feeling in the pit of your stomach.
Winners cheat for the same reason that drug addicts take drugs.
The rush feels great, and withdrawal feels terrible. Both know that their