The brain is a complex organ that thrives on alignment between our natural talents, passions, and the tasks we undertake. When there is a mismatch—whether studying subjects that feel irrelevant or working in roles that do not resonate with one’s skills or interests—the brain’s motivation, reward, and cognitive systems experience significant strain. This misalignment disrupts dopamine-driven reward pathways, reducing motivation and making learning or work feel tedious and unrewarding. Concurrently, stress hormones like cortisol surge, impairing memory, focus, and emotional regulation, which further diminishes the brain’s capacity to perform optimally. Over time, this can lead to emotional exhaustion, frustration, and decreased cognitive flexibility, limiting growth and achievement. The psychological impact extends beyond the individual, affecting team dynamics, productivity, and workplace culture. Addressing these mismatches through better alignment of tasks with talents and passions is crucial not only for enhancing performance but also fostering well-being and long-term engagement. Understanding the brain’s response to mismatched subjects and misaligned work highlights the importance of harnessing intrinsic motivation and creating environments where individuals can connect deeply with their activities, paving the way for success and fulfilment.

Different feelings and emotional reactions in humans are generated through a complex interplay of chemicals in the brain, primarily neurotransmitters and hormones. These chemical messengers influence moods, sensations, and behavioural responses in distinct ways.

Key Brain Chemicals and Their Roles

• Dopamine: Associated with pleasure, motivation, and reward. It is released during enjoyable experiences, achievement, and moments of joy. Dopamine creates a sense of satisfaction and can drive goal-oriented behaviors.

• Serotonin: Regulates mood stability, wellbeing, and happiness. It is also involved in feelings of interest, enjoyment, surprise as well as negative emotions such as disgust. Low levels can lead to distress, fear, anger, and depression. Serotonin is produced throughout the brain and influences appetite, sleep, and overall emotional balance.

• Norepinephrine (Noradrenaline): Responsible for attention, alertness, and the ‘fight or flight’ response. High levels trigger excitement, stress, fear, and anxiety, increasing heart rate and heightening senses during danger or stress.

• Oxytocin: Known as the ‘love hormone’, it promotes bonding, attachment, trust, and empathy. Elevated during intimate or affectionate experiences, it helps form social connections.

• Endorphins: Act as natural painkillers and are released during physical activity or excitement, creating sensations of pleasure and relaxation.

• Cortisol: A hormone released during stress, influencing energy levels and the body’s response to stressful situations.

Chemical Reactions Associated with Different Emotions

• Happiness/Joy: Triggered by increased dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins. Oxytocin also rises during social bonding or affectionate interactions.

• Sadness/Disgust: Often linked to low serotonin levels, with serotonin firing involved in negative sensory reactions or aversive experiences.

• Fear/Anger: High norepinephrine (noradrenaline) and adrenaline levels, which activate the ‘fight or flight’ response and heighten stress reactivity.

• Love/Trust: Oxytocin is released, fostering positive social emotions, attachment, and feelings of safety.

Neurochemical Interactions and Emotional Complexity

• Emotions result from unique combinations and relative balance of these chemicals rather than the influence of any single neurotransmitter. The “three primary color model” similar to color perception suggests that dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine mix to generate the diversity of human emotional experiences.

• The activity of hormones like cortisol and sex hormones further modulates emotional responses, particularly in stress, attachment, and mood disorders.

Neurochemical Interactions and Emotional Complexity

• Emotions result from unique combinations and relative balance of these chemicals rather than the influence of any single neurotransmitter. The “three primary color model” similar to color perception suggests that dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine mix to generate the diversity of human emotional experiences.

• The activity of hormones like cortisol and sex hormones further modulates emotional responses, particularly in stress, attachment, and mood disorders.

Brain Chemicals, Feelings and Reactions

All feelings and reactions are products of brain chemistry that dynamically changes with our thoughts, experiences, and environment, constantly shaping the emotional landscape.

Effects of Studying the Subjects You Don’t Like

When you are required to study a subject that is disliked or hard to understand or perform in a job that is disliked, the brain undergoes a series of neurochemical and behavioural changes linked to motivation, stress, and emotional response.

Neurochemical Responses

• Low Dopamine: When you lack intrinsic motivation or find the subject or work uninteresting, dopamine levels in the reward pathways of the brain decrease. Dopamine fuels motivation and makes learning or working feel engaging - its lack makes effortful tasks feel unrewarding and tedious.

• Rising Cortisol and Stress: Difficult or disliked subjects or work can trigger the brain’s stress response, raising cortisol levels. This hormone prepares the body to handle stress, but high, persistent levels impair reasoning, concentration, and memory formation.

• Reduced Serotonin: Negative emotions and frustration from studying hard topics or doing difficult tasks can lower serotonin, which affects mood regulation and can increase irritability or disengagement.

• Shutdown of Rational Thinking: When initial attempts are painful or unsuccessful, the surge of protective stress hormones can shut down the prefrontal cortex - limiting rational, higher-order thinking - and instead activate “fight or flight” responses or avoidance behaviours.

Brain Circuit Effects

• The reticular activating system becomes aroused, heightening alertness to potential threats (such as failure or embarrassment) rather than curiosity.

• The hippocampus tries to connect new material to familiar patterns, but difficulty in finding relevance leads to increased frustration and cognitive overload.

Motivation and Attitude

• When forced to study, the dopamine pathways associated with intrinsic motivation become less active. This reduces voluntary engagement and lowers the sense of accomplishment from task-related progress.

• Emotional resistance and the brain’s protective tendencies result in procrastination, disengagement, self-doubt, and sometimes active dislike for the subject.

Brain Processes During Disliked Study and Work

Students or working executives studying or working on what they dislike, face elevated stress and low reward signalling, leading to reduced motivation, poorer performance, and a greater urge to avoid the task.

Mismatch and Physical Health

Chronic study and job mismatch, especially when lacking talent or passion, negatively affects physical health through sustained stress responses and unhealthy coping behaviours.

Stress-Related Disorders

• Cardiovascular Problems: Chronic study or work-related stress increases the risk of hypertension, heart disease, and stroke due to persistently elevated cortisol and adrenaline levels.

• Gastrointestinal Issues: Such stress often leads to digestive problems such as irritable bowel syndrome, gastritis, heartburn, or ongoing stomach discomfort.

• Sleep Disturbance: Such stress and unhappiness at work disrupt sleep patterns, resulting in insomnia, restless sleep, lower energy, and impaired restoration.

• Musculoskeletal Pain: Prolonged tension causes muscle pain, headaches, and backache. Over time, chronic muscle strain is linked to conditions such as tension headaches and upper body pain.

Immune and Metabolic Effects

• Impaired Immunity: Continuous stress weakens the immune system, making one susceptible to frequent illness and slower recovery from infections or injuries.

• Weight Changes: Study or Job unhappiness can trigger stress eating, weight gain, or conversely, appetite loss and unhealthy weight reduction.

• Metabolic Syndrome: Higher risk of diabetes and metabolic disturbances due to hormonal imbalances created by chronic psychological stress.

Burnout and Energy Drain

• Chronic Fatigue: Physical and mental exhaustion reduces motivation for exercise, self-care, and healthy activities, deepening the fatigue cycle.

• Risk of Burnout: Burnout symptoms overlap with physical health issues—fatigue, headaches, and pain—often making recovery difficult without changes to job conditions.

Physical Health Effects of Chronic Mismatch

Continuously studying and work in misaligned subjects and roles can thus drive a vicious cycle of poor physical health, amplifying both medical risk and day-to-day discomfort.

Fitment and Research by Dr. Rathi (SetMyCareer)

One of the highlights of Dr. Nandkishore Rathi’s (founder SetMyCareer) research at IIT Bombay was to measure person-job fit and person-culture fit among IT professionals. Through his empirical study, he established that when there is no match between a person’s talent and challenges in his/her job, that person feels demotivated or stressed. This results into him/her leaving the company sooner than later. The above analysis on brain, mental & physical health establishes that lack of motivation to study or work, and excessive stress (due to difficulty-level) results in career breaks and disrupted career trajectory.