Every behavior and decision we make is affected by the reward prediction error (RPE). RPE is tightly linked with dopamine, the most influential neuromodulator in your levels of motivation, positive emotions, and drive to pursue something. Dopamine peaks can be triggered by your desire to pursue something. Peaks of dopamine are followed by troughs, in a constant dance that establishes your baseline dopamine. The anticipation of the reward triggers an increase in dopamine, followed by a trough (below baseline dopamine) that pushes you to seek the object of desire that caused an increase in dopamine in the first place. When you fulfill your desire, dopamine increases or stays within baseline depending on the difference between your expectations and the reality you experienced when fulfilling your desire. This is similar to the concept of the expectations gap in psychology.

This is a powerful concept to internalize because it is like a script running in the background of every situation in your life. You desire something, you pursue the desire, and you feel rewarded or unsatisfied depending on the delta between expectations and reality. And repeat the cycle over again, multiple times a day. It is a powerful concept because you can consciously recognize your dopamine states depending on where you are in the reward prediction error status and manipulate your variable accordingly to achieve your most desired result. The dopamine troughs are fundamental for initiating your motivation to pursue the object of desire, and the expectation gap is crucial in your conceptualization of the success of your pursuit.