Do you want to live in the world of we happy few? This is what you’re suggesting with your rose colored glasses. What would really happen is companies would get the drug legalized so they can pump into their employees.

Then some people would feel there is a lopsided power dynamic in their choice to take them.

In the meantime I would like that choice from a purely self preservation interest in being good at other bodily health and resource appropriations

Find the right exercise/workout for you and it'll be its own reward.

Shouldn't take more than a bit of caffeine to get you moving at that point.

As to empath mode, you've just described MDMA. But it'd be nice if there were something a little less intense. That you could take weekly without frying your brain & was mild enough for family/work social situations. (And no, alcohol doesn't fit the bill).

> Find the right exercise/workout for you and it'll be its own reward.

appreciate the perspective but I want to be like the people that feel pulled to "find" it at all.

That's not so easy, but also not as hard as you think. Won't take a lot of time on any one thing to see if it clicks for you. Pick a couple of activities, do each from absolute beginner level, twice a week for four weeks. Once if you're pushed for time. Keep the one that sucks less after a month. You don't need to hear the voice of God to download the Couch to 5K running app, grab a basic weights set and watch a few vids on simple exercises, or sign up for a local yoga or spin session.

The high can be way better than you'd believe possible before you try. Or if you don't believe personal anecdote.. /something/ must be keeping all those people coming back to it at considerable expense, hassle and time.

The pleasure of working out only becomes obvious after you've built the habit to do so. You'll know you've built the habit when it starts to feel bad when you don't work out on a day you're normally supposed to. It's pretty similar to a drug addiction.

yeah I want a drug induced version of that where I can't feel satisfied until I figure out that I need to exercise

but its pretty clear what I'm asking I don't have to keep re-explaining that, for thanks for chiming in.

I've been doing calisthenics 3 times a week since 2019. When I skip a day I feel enormous amount of guilt and I can't sleep when the night comes. Still, I don't like every moment of doing the exercises and I have a feeling of time being wasted by tending to my body instead of doing something with my family, cooking for them or being creative. What's more doing the workout eats a huge amount of my will power and leaves me unwilling to do any other chore for that day.

close the feedback loop enough to get the dopamine rush each time:

- aim to either meet or exceed the previous workout, and consider that a success

- count reps so you can increase them 1 at a time until you're ready to increase weight

- for cardio, increase difficulty (incline/speed) until you're ready to increase distance

- set a longer term goal, too, like a body weight bench press or a 10 minute mile

- after doing this for a while, you might notice some differences in your appearance, which can be its own motivator

Empath mode is oxytocin injection. Joking? Or not?