Well, here we are approaching the New Year. Many of you are setting new goals for yourselves. Why is it that so often you neither persist with nor achieve them? Alas, out of the few people who do set goals, most don't take goal setting seriously, don't do it scientifically, and do it only once each year. In all my work with coaching clients, client consultees, and patients, I always emphasize and teach goal setting and mindset change first. Only then do I deal with issues of problem solving, decision making, time management, or any other area. Until your specialized knowledge area is combined with goals and mindset, your knowledge will not allow you to accomplish much or maintain any changes made for very long.
So what can neuroscience tell us about goal setting?
1. Repetition is a good way to embed a goal in your non-conscious mind. I've always been told that "repetition is the mother of all learning". However, it's also true for goal setting as well. It turns out that neuroimaging of the brain shows us that initially setting a goal is a conscious activity. However, it is in the non-conscious mind areas that behaviors become consolidated to the point of being unconscious and automatic, what we know as habits. In fact, becoming unconsciously competent is a cornerstone of success for many people, and occurs through repetition. New neural patterns form only after they've been repeated enough times. If you make resolutions and don't continue to repeat and reinforce your desire for these goals, then no new neural connections are made and no new habits occur. The best example of this is the frequent resolution by people to lose weight in the new year. The goal is not repeated regularly and does not strengthen in the brain. It also is true that 21-30 days are needed to consolidate a new habit on a neurological basis. When you repeat your goals again and again, programming occurs in the subconscious mind. You are best advised to rewrite your goals daily, think about them positively, repeat them, and visualize them occurring. You can't force this. It needs to be a process of creating new patterns of thinking and visualizing, as well as clearing away self doubts (mindset issue). So, it's not the resolution that you set once but the thoughts and visual images you focus on all day that create your new long term behavioral change by making the behaviors unconscious and automatic, i.e. a habit.
2. Use emotion to create energy for your goal. The strength and number of neural connections associated with a thought or behavior increase when you're in an emotional state. Unfortunately, too often this process occurs for negative thoughts and behaviors reinforcing avoidance and escape. But it can work as well for positive thoughts and behaviors. Neuroimaging findings indicate that neural connections are stronger when formed with high emotion. This also is why many "casually" formed resolutions fail as they are set with no emotion. You're prone to become ambivalent, uncertain, and intermittent in carrying out your goal, particularly at the first obstacle. Do not take goal setting lightly or casually. Whatever your goal is, it's about your life and that's important. We know you can rewire your brain. All the research in brain plasticity tells us so.
3. Take your goal setting seriously. Rewrite goals daily. Think about them constantly. Visualize yourself accomplishing them. Then take massive action to accomplish them and soon your behaviors will become automatic.
May 2017 be the most happy and successful year of your life. Best wishes for the New Year.
Dr. Paul Longobardi
For information on these and related topics, please see my website at www.successandmindset.com.