Lately, I’ve been trying to cut down on caffeine.
A few days ago, I saw a TikTok video that said, “When someone backs out of plans I made when I’m caffeinated,” and the creator was happy and dancing around. That immediately felt relatable and stuck with me for the last few days. I wrote on my whiteboard, “Does caffeine change my personality?” On deeper reflection, I think it does.
I become more impulsive when I drink coffee, energy drinks, or pre-workout. Spending days drinking Panera energy drinks and sitting at the library motivated me to build this site and start my business ventures. It’s been a crutch that’s encouraged me to edit YouTube videos, design t-shirts, study Korean and Japanese, start new workout programs, and so on. However, when I come down from the caffeine, I feel more laid back and withdrawn. I often gave up on those projects because I just wasn’t that motivated about them, to begin with. I was just in a high mood and didn’t think deeply about the future.
I also think that the ups and downs of caffeine make it more difficult to focus. Lately, I’ve been spending lots of time on YouTube, Discord, and X, and I’m more inclined to chase dopamine. That’s another serious problem of mine that I want to correct.
Now that I’m facing a big career change and potential move, it’s best to stay level-headed and make decisions without being in an overly positive mood (on caffeine) or overly negative mood (late at night). So I hope that cutting down a bit helps with that.
