A Research Paper By Kavita Bhandari, Mindset & Life Coach, HONG KONG
The Neuroscience Behind Goal Setting, Pursuit, and Achievement
A search on the internet for life coaching brings out many claims of transformation and increasing one’s potential. There are abundant offerings of coach training and credentialing. If coaching is to overcome the potential negative perception, then it needs to rest on a solid foundation. My article explores some of the neuro-scientific underpinnings of coaching that I have discovered over the year with ICA, and how science can inform and enhance coaching. Since each coaching session begins with the end in mind, I have focused on the neuroscience behind goal setting, pursuit, and achievement.
Neuroscience of goal setting, pursuit, and achievement
All animals set goals and make efforts to achieve that goal. And humans are no different. What differentiates us from other species is our ability to juggle multiple goals over different time scales.
There is only one common set of neural circuits that controls goal setting and movement toward that goal. A neural circuit is a collection of brain areas that when active in a particular sequence gives rise to a particular behavior or perception. When we feel happy, it’s not because a brain area is happy rather it’s different areas of the brain that are activated and work in concert to create that feeling. These neural circuits are:
Amygdala – It is a major processing center of emotions. The main job is to regulate emotions such as fear, anxiety, and embarrassment. The amygdala is also involved in tying emotional meaning to our memories, reward processing, and decision-making.
Ventral striatum – This is a part of the Basal ganglia- This has two circuits that are involved in either initiating action or preventing action. The basal ganglia is a neural circuit that helps generate action initiation or action prevention.
Lateral prefrontal cortex – It is involved in executive function, involved with planning and thinking.
Orbital frontal cortex- One of the key functions of the orbital frontal cortex is meshing some emotionality with our current state of progress and comparing that emotionality to where it might be when we are closer to our goals.
These circuits are involved in a decision-making process that leads us to setting goals and achieving them.
When we think about setting a goal, two things are going on in the brain, Value information -evaluating whether the goal is worth pursuing, and Action assessment- which action to take or not take. Dopamine is the common currency by which we assess the value of our pursuit.
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter made in our brain. It plays a role as a “reward center” and in many body functions, including pleasurable reward and motivation, mood, movement, and attention. Dopamine is known as the “feel-good” hormone. It gives us a sense of pleasure. It also gives us the motivation to do something when we are feeling pleasure. This system is designed from an evolutionary standpoint, to reward us when we are doing things we need to do to survive- eat, drink, compete to survive, and reproduce. As humans, our brains are hard-wired to seek out behavior that releases dopamine in our reward system. When we feel good, we seek more of that feeling.
Any kind of goal pursuit involves a number of different states and neural circuits in the brain and body. When we are thinking about a goal we are essentially thinking about moving from peri-personal space into extra personal space.
Peri personal space is all the space within, inside our body, the surface of our skin, and in our immediate environment. We have particular neural circuits and chemicals that are geared towards consummatory behaviors, meaning consuming and enjoying things that are in our immediate peri-personal space.
Extra personal space is everything beyond the confines of our reach. The neuro-modulators and neurochemicals that are associated with any kind of thinking about anything in extra personal space is dopamine.
Our mental frames and attention are always directed to peri personal space or extra personal space, but we have an ability to dynamically travel back and forth between the two. If we are to be good at setting goals and seeking goals, we have to toggle forth between a clear understanding of our peri personal space, what we have and how we feel in the immediate present, and understanding what’s out there and our ability to move into that extra personal space. How we feel about a goal, we experience it here and now in our peri-personal space; however, moving towards any goal involves orienting our thinking towards extra personal space. Our visual perception of the future, or our visual perception of the present, is what allows us to anchor our goal-directed systems and our motivation to take on things that in the immediate term might not seem useful.
A goal has to be coupled with the physical pursuit of the goal. When we visualize or think about our goals, our visual system brings together a focus, literally a visual focus on a particular point outside us, then it recruits an increase in systolic blood pressure, which creates a systemic, body-wide, and brain-wide increase in fuel utilization, in oxygen availability, in our willingness to move forward as a body. Neurotransmitter systems like epinephrine and dopamine get recruited to place us into a continual mode of action.
Experiments have shown that the visualization of consequences of unmet goals is more effective in creating the motivation necessary for long-term goal achievement. Part of the reason has to do with increases in systolic blood pressure and increases in readiness when we imagine failure. The body and brain are much better at moving away from fearful things than towards things we want.
A psychological phenomenon, delayed discounting, can also have an impact on goal achievement. Delayed discounting states that the further out in time the goal is, the less effective the reward is in motivating one’s behavior. It doesn’t have the same value because the reward system doesn’t work well for long-term goals.
Understanding the role dopamine plays in reward and motivation, we can support our clients in creating a robust plan with milestones along the way so that they can remain consistently motivated to achieve long-term goals.
During coaching sessions, our client’s neural circuits are fired up and physiological changes occur. When we support our clients to visualize or think about their goals with rich imagination, we are supporting and motivating them to move from peri-personal space into extra personal space. As we now know goal setting, pursuit, and achievement are not simply based on reasoning, planning, and problem-solving. Emotions play an equally important role in motivation and decision-making. By exploring what’s important about the client’s goals, exploring emotions tied up with their desire to make changes, and exploring potential consequences of failure, we are ensuring that our clients have a greater chance of successful goal achievement.
In coaching practice, the anticipation of change, such as goal setting, can activate the fear circuitry in the temporal lobes of the brain, the amygdala, whose activation decreases the capacity and effectiveness of working memory. Goleman describes the ‘amygdala hijack’ (similar to the ‘fight-or-flight’ response) which becomes activated when we perceive a threat to our well-being and, as a consequence, restricts the ability of the left prefrontal area to focus on higher intellectual functions. Bradberry and Greaves (2005) assert that emotional intelligence involves the smooth flow of traffic in both directions between the rational (i.e. frontal lobes) and emotional brain regions. Emotional intelligence skills can help clients regulate the negative influence on goal attainment and motivation of self-limiting beliefs and emotions such as anxiety, depression, anger, and frustration. Self-awareness and self-management aspects of emotional intelligence may benefit coaching outcomes by facilitating the engagement of frontal lobe functions associated with creativity, problem-solving, reasoning, and decision-making.
The Intersection of the Neuroscience
The intersection of the neuroscience of goal setting and life coaching provides valuable insights into the inner workings of the brain and its impact on goal achievement. Understanding the neural circuits involved in goal setting, assessment, and pursuit allows life coaches to design tailored strategies that optimize motivation, resilience, and overall well-being. By leveraging the power of neuroplasticity, emotional engagement, mindfulness, and other neuroscience-based techniques, life coaches can effectively support individuals in unlocking their potential and successfully attaining their goals. As the fields of neuroscience and life coaching continue to advance, their collaboration holds immense promise for personal and professional growth, ultimately empowering individuals to live a purposeful and fulfilling life.
References
https://www.hubermanlab.com/episode/the-science-of-setting-and-achieving-goals
https://explore.bps.org.uk/content/bpstcp/4/2/63#:~:text=Coaching
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5981239/