Unlocking Happiness, the power of D.O.S.E in our lives
Imagine you’re standing on the beach, feel the hot Seabreeze on your face, your heart beating with excitement. As you launch your kite into the sky, a surge of exhilaration rushes through your entire body. This isn’t just the thrill of starting your kitesurfing session. It’s a cocktail of powerful D.O.S.E running through your veins, transforming every wave you ride into a greater happiness level. Welcome to the world where the passion meets the science of happiness. Here at Tout’s en Kite, we don’t just ride the waves. We ride with success, boosting confidence in our lives through the discovery and practice of kitesurfing. In this article, we’ll explore how the D.O.S.E of happiness. Our secret ally in making your life a with a happier, healthier you!
What if you could have a free D.O.S.E shot everyday to boost your happiness level? Would you take it? Well what if I tell you that you could find any D.O.S.E in you. Isn’t it magic?
What is the D.O.S.E? (of happiness)
The acronym stands for Dopamine, Oxytocin, Serotonin, Endorphin
These hormones are natural chemicals in the body that play a crucial role in influencing our mood, emotions, behavior, overall happiness and well-being. These hormones are also deeply interconnected with everyday activities and experiences, such as sports, social interactions, and lifestyle choices.
Dopamine
Often labeled as the ‘reward chemical,’ dopamine motivates us. This is the ‘feel-good’ hormone, dopamine is a neurotransmitter that’s heavily involved in our reward and pleasure centers. It’s released when we achieve our goals, when we engage in activities that are perceived as rewarding: wining a new business contract, completing a complex project, enjoying a delicious meal, finishing a half marathon, or experiencing a great kitesurfing session. Dopamine makes us feel proud of our accomplishment and motivates us to repeat these pleasurable activities, reinforcing habits and learning. It’s crucial for our sense of motivation, fulfillment, satisfaction, happiness and pleasure. We feel proud of our own contribution and self accomplishment.
Oxytocin
Known as the “love hormone”. Oxytocin deepens bonds and connections. This is the hormone that you release when you are surrounded by your loved ones, your children, partner, parents, friends. Widely known as the “love hormone” oxytocin plays a significant role in social bonding, trust, and building relationships. It’s released during intimate moments like hugging, kissing, making love or even during positive social interactions with your kids, partner, friends, colleagues, family. For kitesurfers and other sport addicts, the sense of community, and connection with other crazy female enthusiastic like you can stimulate oxytocin release, enhancing the social aspect of the sport. Bonding, connection are part of the happiness feeling.
Serotonin:
This mood stabilizer, often influenced by our environment and lifestyle choices, keeps us balanced and content. This is the hormone that you release when you appreciate your surroundings, and gives you high emotions. A beautiful painting, the landscape of your garden, or simply appreciate a coffee and a delicacy at the terrace of a French café. This hormone is key in regulating mood, appetite, and sleep. It helps to stabilize our mood, bringing feelings of well-being and happiness. Low levels of serotonin are associated with depression and anxiety. Activities like kitesurfing, especially when done in a natural, sunlight environment, can boost serotonin levels, contributing to a more positive mood and emotional state.
Endorphin
This is the hormone you release during a physical effort, especially when it’s difficult. These are natural painkillers produced by the body helps turning stress and pain into energy and euphoria. Endorphins help to alleviate discomfort and pain, promoting a sense of euphoria and a ‘runner’s high.’ This can be particularly relevant in kitesurfing, and any other sports activities where the physical exertion and thrill of the sport can lead to a significant release of endorphins, making the experience not just exhilarating but also inducing joy and hapiness.
Include a daily D.O.S.E to boost your happiness
Dopamine – The feeling of Achievements and happiness
Imagine dopamine as your feeling when you experience your high-five moments and positive emotions. This hormone is all about the thrill of achievement and success, happiness. As a business professional, you know the rush of closing a deal to get a contract, or delivering a project on time, within budget, or nailing a business presentation. Now, picture that feeling when you get on your kiteboard for the first time after intense sessions of body-dragging in water and several attempts riding on the board. This is the same feeling when you reach the finish line of a run race, reach the top of a mountain, complete a hike or a long walk. It could also be when you complete a book, the great gastronomic dinner you’ve cooked, or the booking of your next kitesurfing retreat. Dopamine rewards every milestone you reach providing the life satisfaction in professional or personal accomplishments. It’s just the feeling of happiness and fulfillment.
Boost your Dopamine by Setting Goals and Reach Happiness
Similar to what you implement in your business, set personal goals to achieve them. This could be related to fitness, hobbies, or self-improvement. Create a board, notes or use a goal-tracking tool to monitor progress in areas like learning a new skill, improving fitness levels, or even picking up a new hobby like photography, painting or kitesurfing. Once you complete your activities, you would be able to experiment the gratitude to yourself and being proud of your accomplishments.
Boost your dopamine by setting goals for your weekends
Weekends are just filled with many tasks and sometimes I feel that I never have enough time! Set goals and create a planning list to ensure that you don’t miss the important things, between the kids activities and social events. My weekends could be loaded when my son is arriving from his father’s (he lives in Nice, in the South West of France). Home chores, grocery shopping, lunch at friend’s, luggage unpacking/ packing and rush to the airport. This is a routine well set, but sometimes if not well planned, the airport rush is becoming an airport stress that could ruin the weekend. I have plenty of stories about travelling and getting just close to miss a flight.. but this would be in future posts if you’re interested!
So set your goals, reach happiness and appreciate when all the activities have been completed smoothly.
Oxytocin – The feeling of connection, love, happiness
Oxytocin is like a networking event, but with more adrenaline and less small talk. This hormone involves connections and trust, something you have experienced in your professional and personal life. As you join a network, a community, such as Tout’s en Kite, you’ll experience a different kind of teamwork and friendship, building relationships based on shared challenges and triumphs. You will no longer feel alone and have a network to support when you feel down, and need a boost to regain the success you deserve.
Boost your oxytocin by networking and engaging in social events
Use your networking skills to build connections in areas you’re passionate about. This could be book clubs, cooking classes, or sports teams. Organize or attend social events, workshops that align with your interests. Participating in community service or volunteer work can also be rewarding and boost oxytocin. The fact that you interact with others and with benevolence, it create a great feeling inside and a sense of connection to others.
Boost your oxytocin with your loved ones
As a busy mother, my mornings start slowly, first, with a hug to my lovely daughter, 16 (when she’s awake). This is a great way to start my day, and the best is when my husband is making me a coffee. This is a simple routine that boosts my oxytocin.
I’m just back from vacation. My teenagers, 13 and 16, always have difficulties to wake up during vacation time. However, I like to have sporty vacation, such as skiing in the Alps. I would then wake up earlier and prepare the breakfast. I have a tendency to speed up and ensure that we could get on the ski tracks as soon as possible… but fortunately, my kids are slowing me down. They’re requesting their morning hug! And as much as busy I am, I would always stop what I’m doing to give this privilege moment to my babies (I know they are big now, but will always be my babies…)
Serotonin – The feeling of life Balance, and happiness
For the busy professionals, serotonin is like the peaceful paradise you create in your mind. It’s all about mood stability and a sense of well-being. Kitesurfing, like any other sports could offer an escape from the fast-paced business world, allowing you to slow down enjoying the peaceful nature. It’s your chance to recharge your inner battery level, balancing your serotonin levels, just like balancing your busy workloads. When you’re in a natural environment, such as a beach, on the blue ocean, or in mountains, you can feel the heat of the sun, the fresh Seabreeze or the beautiful landscape of the Alps. It just helps clear your mind and appreciate the moment you’re in. The beauty of Mother nature also helps us position ourselves in our humble place of Human, insignificant in the entire universe.
Boost your Serotonin by Balancing Work with Outdoor Activities
Make time to step outside work and embrace nature. Whether it’s a weekend hike, a short walk in a nearby park, or kitesurfing, getting sunlight is crucial for your mood.
Combine your interests with outdoor experiences such as gardening, outdoor painting, photography. If you enjoy reading, try doing it in a peaceful outdoor setting. Yoga, kitesurfing retreats can also be excellent serotonin boosters.
Boost your serotonin in the work environment
It might sound difficult, but at your workplace, you could create time to get outside and have lunch, in a park, or just have a walk around the workplace. Even in cities there are green areas, or even in the workplace, some buildings are including resting areas. For instance, in my building in La Defense (in the Business District area of Paris), we do have an excellent view of Paris. Just sit, relax, and take time to appreciate what you have round you. During my last workshop I hosted in Paris, I brought my colleagues from overseas to see our beautiful Eiffel tower and the Sacré Coeur. Simple but efficient! Was a great boost of Serotonin for them!
Endorphins – The feeling of Power Rush
Endorphins are your personal boost during physical activity, similar to a challenging workout or a busy day running from a meeting to another. In kitesurfing or any other passionating activities, it transforms physical exertion into a thrilling adventure, giving you a sense of power and invigoration. It’s a way for your body to celebrate the strength and resilience, empowering you to tackle challenges both in your personal environment and in the workplace.
Boost your endorphins by exercising and practicing fun physical activities
Incorporate regular exercise into your routine. Choose activities that you find enjoyable and exhilarating such as kitesurfing, running, skiing, etc…
How about trying dance classes, cycling, or even a fun run with friends. Activities that combine fitness with social interaction are great for releasing endorphins.
From time to time, I would dance with my kids. It’s an excellent exercice and also fun. We even used to record our video while mirroring a dance on youtube and we were just laughing like crazy! This was actually a great boost of endorphins, and oxytocin at once!
How Kitesurfing is giving me the D.O.S.E of happiness
I will not lie to you, kitesurfing is not an easy sport to practice and at the beginning, it takes motivation, perseverance to achieve the steps required to be able to kitesurf on your own. But once you get onto your board, just a simple ride on the surfboard or on the kiteboard provides you the feeling of being invincible, a goddess on water!
This is the Dopamin. And you’ll get even more when you start jumping or doing othe tricks.
Kitesurfing is a community. Anywhere you ride, you’ll always find new friends. All kitesurfers share the same passion and this is removing any barriers of language, level, culture, or gender. Kitesurfing is like a new language that will connect you to anyone practicing this sport. This connection is the Oxytocin that you’ll get anytime, anywhere you ride on your kitesurf.
For kitesurfing, you need a beautiful beach, water (sea, ocean), and it’s in most of the cases in amazing spots. Just being in the spot would makes you happy. All these kites flying around you, is a beautiful picture on its own. The level of Serotonin you get is always at 100%.
Last but not least, kitesurfing is a physical sport. You don’t need to be too muscular, but have a minimum condition. What is great is that you don’t need big arms or legs. The kite is hooked to a harness and it’s your body, your core that is mainly working, which is just fantastic for us, ladies.
I can assure you that after a week of kitesurfing, I feel toned, tanned, and great! And happy, of course. That is the direct effect of endorphins released when I’m on my kiteboard!
Conclusion – Embracing the Wave of Well-Being and Happiness
As we reach the exploration into the world of Dopamine, Oxytocin, Serotonin, and Endorphins – the D.O.S.E. of happiness – it’s clear that the journey of kitesurfing (it also applies for any other passion), offers much more than just physical benefits. It’s a voyage into enhancing our mental and emotional well-being.
Include the D.O.S.E in your daily life
- Dopamine: We’ve seen how the achievements and thrills of kite surfing can release dopamine, rewarding us with feelings of pleasure and motivating us to strive for more.
- Oxytocin: The connections and friendships forged through the kitesurfing community highlight the power of oxytocin in building strong social bonds and enhancing our sense of belonging.
- Serotonin: Our serene moments on the water, surrounded by nature’s beauty, underscore the role of serotonin in stabilizing our mood and promoting a sense of well-being.
- Endorphins: And let’s not forget the exhilarating physical challenge of kitesurfing, which releases endorphins, providing pain relief and a sense of euphoria.
Through these experiences, kitesurfing emerges not just as a sport, but as a holistic activity that nurtures both body and mind. But the beauty of the D.O.S.E. hormones lies in their universality. Whether you’re on the water riding the waves or finding joy in other aspects of life, these hormones play a crucial role in your overall happiness and well-being.
As we wrap up, I encourage you, our dear readers, to be more mindful of these powerful neurotransmitters in your daily life. Recognize the moments that trigger these hormones, whether it’s during a kite surfing session, a heartwarming interaction with a friend, or simply taking a moment to appreciate the beauty around you. Embrace activities that boost these hormones and notice the positive impact on your mood and outlook.
Happiness is not a constant state euphoria, happiness is the balance between the positive emotions and negative ones. Understanding that we could create and seek for our own D.O.S.E everyday is a path to happiness.
Remember, every wave we ride, both literally and metaphorically, contributes to our journey of well-being. So, let’s set our kites high and sail towards a happier, healthier life.
Join the Conversation, Share the Journey
Now that we’ve sailed through the fascinating world of D.O.S.E. hormones and their connection to kitesurfing and overall well-being, we’d love to hear from you! Drop your comments in the below form.
- Share Your D.O.S.E Stories: Have you found in kitesurfing or in any other activities a boost in your mood, confidence? We’re eager to hear your stories and insights and how you include the D.O.S.E in your life. Your experiences can inspire and motivate others in our community.
- Join the Discussion: Drop a comment below to share your thoughts on this article. Did it resonate with you? Do you have additional tips or ideas on how to harness the power of these hormones in our daily lives?
- Spread the Word: If you found this article enlightening or inspiring, please share it with friends, family, or colleagues. Let’s spread the joy and knowledge of how activities like kite surfing can significantly enhance our mental and emotional well-being.
Together, let’s create a wave of positivity and well-being. Your voice matters, and we can’t wait to engage with your stories and insights. Let’s continue to support and inspire each other in our quest for a happier, healthier life.
Neary, what if we kite?
