Why we do what we do

“We do things for the emotional pay-off.”

— Dr. Joe Dispenza

In Southern California, I was at a Dr. Joe Dispenza retreat. This was a 3-day intensive retreat focused on manifesting our dream life. During the retreat, Dr. Joe lectured and led meditations for over 16 hours. Of everything he said, this stood out the most: 

“We do things for the emotional pay-off.”

What a powerful statement. 

“We do things…” He is grouping all the doing into one category. This is a law or a rule he believes applies to everything. 

“...for the…” now he is stating the reason for everything we do. 

“...emotional pay-off” the feelings we get from the doing. Emotions are energy in motion, so you could say we are doing things for the energy we get from the doing. 

So the only question is, what do you want to feel? When? How often? How strongly? Do you want to be in control of it? Or do you want circumstances to dictate how you feel? 

Personally, I want to feel happy. 

In this book, I am using happy as a general term for peace, love, and excitement altogether. 

Think about the quote above, “we do things for the emotional payoff.”

Why do you aim to be rich? Do you want to feel free to do as you please? Do you want to feel secure from poverty? Do you want to feel accomplished? 

Getting rich, in and of itself, is not the goal. It is to have the means to feel a certain way. 

And do you need to be rich to feel that way? Or are you able to feel free, secure, and accomplished without being rich?

How about something even closer to the chest than money… physical health! Why do you want to be healthy? Do you want to be able to do as you want? Do you want to be free from the distractions poor physical health can cause? Do you want to feel like you are going to live a long time? 

What feelings are you desiring that health, in the material form of it, will bring? 

"A healthy man has many wishes, a sick man only one."

— Confuscious

The importance of physical health is clear here, but more so, it shows that even when healthy, your mental state reigns supreme! 

Happiness is the ultimate goal. 

(And FYI – Happiness, through stress alleviation, is a major factor in longevity and avoiding chronic disease.)

Happiness is the emotional payoff we want from health and wealth.