The Pain-Pleasure Pendulum

Okay, this might be the wildest thing we’ve ever learned about the brain…

It's called The Pain-Pleasure Pendulum.

Newton's Third Law says:

For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Turns out, our brains work the same way.

Every hit of pleasure pulls the pendulum one way —

and it must swing back into pain to balance itself.

You scroll on social media → feels good.

Then you stop → feels bad.

So you scroll for longer → feels better.

Then you stop → feels even worse.

...and the cycle continues.

But here’s the wild part — the opposite is also true.

When you choose pain on purpose:

• finishing a tough workout
• taking a cold shower
• or tackling a hard task...

you feel pleasure afterwards.

Not just any pleasure — the deep, lasting kind.

And the harder the thing, the better it feels once it’s done.

So in other words:

Chasing pleasure gives you pain.

Choosing pain gives you peace.

So next time you reach for a quick hit of pleasure, picture that pendulum.

And do the hard thing instead.