This month in the Matter Community, we’re working on boosting our serotonin levels. Serotonin works with dopamine to create the feeling of recognition or pride. Pride is the feeling of deep satisfaction that you get from your own achievements or possessions, or from the wins of people you care about.
You can feel proud all by yourself, but that’s hard for most of us. You’re more likely to feel proud as a result of being recognized by others, or when you’ve accomplished long-term or difficult goals. You can also experience pride by celebrating the achievements of others, or things you’ve accomplished together.
The benefits of activating serotonin and dopamine (and feeling pride) include:
So that’s why we’re focusing on boosting serotonin this month— for your motivation, mental health, relationships, and physical well-being.
Spend at least an hour this week volunteering your time doing something meaningful to you. If you enjoy this time spent, consider continuing the practice for the rest of the month (or year)!
Prosocial behaviors (like volunteering) activate your brain’s reward systems—just like when you do other enjoyable activities. Giving back releases the feel-good neurotransmitters, dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, and opioids, creating what researchers call a “Helper’s High” (Moll et al., 2006; Luks & Payne, 1988). The release of feel-good neurotransmitters reinforces the behavior and encourages individuals to continue engaging in altruistic acts.
This makes sense under the Matter Framework if you’re:
The beauty of volunteering is that it benefits everyone involved. It strengthens communities, nurtures compassion, and improves your own mental and emotional well-being—making it one of the most meaningful habits you can build.
Block off 15 minutes this weekend to record this week’s accomplishments (big or small) in a journal, photo album, or the Matter app.
When you recall past moments, the same neurotransmitters that created those positive emotions the first time are reactivated, and you get to experience those emotions again. In the case of accomplishments, this means you reactivate the same reward systems that create pride (i.e. serotonin and dopamine).
Recording your wins helps reinforce the message that you’re doing well, which can generate a sense of pride even without external praise. In fact, your brain doesn't require someone else to acknowledge your progress for it to trigger these reward systems — if the reflection feels sincere and meaningful, the effects can be equally powerful.
Set an ambitious, long-term, goal for yourself that you’re excited about accomplishing. Create a detailed plan that includes milestones along the way. Write your plan down and/or create a vision board, then place it somewhere you’ll see every day.
Why it matters:
Defining a long-term goal gives your brain something to anticipate, activating dopamine pathways tied to motivation, reward, and sustained effort. This dopamine boost makes you feel more energized, focused, and driven as your brain starts treating your goal like a future reward worth chasing. And each change we introduce into our lives can boost dopamine even further as long as we’re curious about the results.
Breaking your goal into clear, manageable milestones makes progress feel achievable. Each small win boosts serotonin, increasing self-esteem and our feelings of pride in ourselves, in addition to whatever feel-good neurotransmitters (FGN) the step activates. For example: if you exercised, you released opioids; if you *finally* caught up with your long-time friend, you activated cannabinoids; etc.
Humans are highly visual creatures. Because our brains are adapted to easily process and comprehend visual information, visualization can be a powerful tool for influencing our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors.
That’s why creating a vision board or writing out your plan isn’t just aesthetic—it helps you vividly picture your future self, which strengthens long-term decision-making and curbs impulsive distractions.
When you visualize positive outcomes, the same neurotransmitters that you’ll trigger when you actually reach your goal are activated. Imagining success activates both dopamine and serotonin, motivating action and helping you stay focused. Serotonin also fine-tunes activity in your prefrontal cortex (PFC)—the part of the brain responsible for:
Depending on what you need, serotonin can either ramp up the PFC to help with discipline and follow-through, or smooth over racing thoughts and self-doubt to help you stay clear-headed.
When you see your plan or vision board daily, your brain stays primed for regular action. That daily cue helps lock in the habit and energizes you through dopamine anticipation—even when things get hard.
As a result, you make more intentional progress and develop habits that support your long-term success as dopamine hits reinforce your efforts. The balanced FGN activation overall contributes to your happiness, reduces the effects of stress hormones like cortisol (i.e. lowers levels of anxiety and depression), and builds neuroplasticity in your brain.
Congratulate a friend or family member who recently accomplished something they worked hard to achieve (e.g. an academic degree, a race, starting a business, etc.) ideally at the event. If you can’t make the event, make a plan to celebrate the accomplishment with them the following day. If there’s no event planned, host one yourself!
Celebrating someone else’s accomplishment activates your brain’s serotonin reward system at a minimum, reinforcing feelings of pride. When you recognize another person’s hard work—especially in-person—you also boost their serotonin and reinforce their sense of value, self-worth, and belonging.
That said, these moments of shared pride also strengthen relationships, build trust, and deepen emotional bonds. If you’re celebrating someone you’ve mentored or nurtured, you’re likely activating oxytocin as well. If you’re celebrating with friends or for a friend, you’ll activate cannabinoids too.
Plus, being around people who are succeeding and growing can inspire your own motivation through vicarious reinforcement (a fancy way of saying that watching someone win can light up your own dopamine reward system too).
Everyone deserves to be recognized for their accomplishments. Being proud of your friends and loved ones is not only beneficial for your own feel-good neurotransmitter (FGN) levels, but for theirs as well.
So give yourself the opportunity to be proud of the people you love. Save the date anytime people you love have important events — school, sports, performances, etc. Some examples: your kid’s basketball games, your best friend’s concert, your sibling’s Broadway debut.