In this Huberman Lab Essentials episode, I explain how to use science-based tools to better set and achieve goals. I discuss the neuroscience of goal pursuit and how dopamine and visual attention shape motivation and effort. I explain whether visualizing success or failure better supports goal pursuit, how to choose goals at the right level of difficulty and evaluate progress. I also share a short “space-time bridging” protocol that helps train long-range, goal-directed behavior. These tools will help you stay motivated and reach goals more effectively. Read the episode show notes at hubermanlab.com. Thank you to our sponsors AG1: https://drinkag1.com/huberman David: https://davidprotein.com/huberman LMNT: https://drinklmnt.com/huberman Timestamps (00:00:00) Goal Setting (00:00:23) Brain & Goal Pursuit (00:03:32) Goal Value, Action Steps (00:05:49) Sponsor: David (00:07:07) Peripersonal vs Extrapersonal Space (00:08:34) Tool: Visual Focus & Pursuing Goals (00:13:04) Visualization & Goal Pursuit, Tool: Visualize Failure (00:15:25) Sponsor: AG1 (00:16:48) Tool: Goal Setting & Difficulty Level (00:18:27) Dopamine & Goal Pursuit, Reward Prediction Error, Tool: Weekly Goal Assessment (00:23:39) Dopamine & Vision; Importance of Behavioral Tools (00:25:37) Recap of Tools for Goal Setting & Pursuit (00:26:49) Sponsor: LMNT (00:28:21) Goal Pursuit, Time; Tool: Space-Time Bridging (00:35:49) Recap, Key Takeaways Disclaimer & Disclosures Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Welcome to Huberman Lab Essentials, where we revisit past episodes for the most potent and actionable science-based tools for mental health, physical health, and performance.
Chapter 2: How does the brain influence goal pursuit?
I'm Andrew Huberman, and I'm a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine. Today, we're talking all about goals and the science of goal setting and achieving your goals. So when we think about goal seeking and the pursuit of goals of any kind in the brain, it doesn't matter what the goal is. It involves a common set of neural circuits.
One of the brain areas is the so-called amygdala. The amygdala is most often associated with fear.
Chapter 3: What tools help in visualizing and pursuing goals?
So you might say, wow, how is that involved in goal-directed behavior? Well, a lot of our goal-directed behavior is to avoid punishments, including things like embarrassment or financial ruin or things of that sort. And so the amygdala and some sense of anxiety or fear is actually built in to the circuits that generate goal-seeking and our motivation to pursue goals.
The other areas are the so-called eventual striatum, The striatum is part of what's called the basal ganglia. The basal ganglia is a neural circuit that can very simply be described as a neural circuit that helps us generate go, meaning the initiation of action and no go, the prevention of action type scenarios.
Chapter 4: How can visualizing failure improve goal achievement?
Let me make that even simpler. The ventral striatum is part of this thing called the basal ganglia. The basal ganglia has sort of two circuits within it.
Chapter 5: How do you set goals at the right level of difficulty?
One circuit is involved in getting us to do things like I'm going to get up tomorrow and I'm going to run five miles first thing in the morning.
Chapter 6: What is the significance of dopamine in goal setting?
I don't know if I'm actually going to do that, but I'm just using that as an example. Another circuit within the basal ganglia is a no-go circuit. It's the one that says, no, I'm not going to go for the second cookie or the third cookie. I'm not going to eat that. And then the go circuit would be the one that's responsible for instead eating something else.
Okay, so we have go and no-go circuits within the basal ganglia. So we've got amygdala, So think of as kind of fear and anxiety and avoidance. We've got the basal ganglia, which are for initiating action and preventing action. And then there is the so-called cortex. The cortex is the outer shell of the brain.
Chapter 7: What is the space-time bridging protocol for goal pursuit?
And there are two sub regions of the cortex that are involved in goal-directed behavior. One is the lateral prefrontal cortex. Prefrontal cortex is involved in so-called executive function, things like planning, thinking about things under different timescales. So not just what we want in the immediate term, but what we,
might want tomorrow or the next day and how our actions currently are going to relate to the future. And the so-called orbitofrontal cortex.
Orbitofrontal cortex has a large number of functions, but one of the key functions of the orbitofrontal cortex, it's involved in meshing some emotionality with our current state of progress and comparing that emotionality to where it might be when we are closer to a goal, okay?
Chapter 8: What are the key takeaways for effective goal setting?
So there are basically four areas, one involved in anxiety, one involved in one involved in planning and another involved in this go, no go action, okay? If we want to make this even simpler, I'll just do this one more time. Think anxiety and fear, it's the amygdala. The second is involved in action and inaction. Remember go and no go. So that's the basal ganglia.
The other one is involved in planning and thinking across different timescales. So that's lateral prefrontal cortex. And then the fourth one is involved in emotionality, where we sit emotionally at present compared to where we think we will be emotionally when we reach some particular goal. And that's the orbitofrontal cortex.
What is going on in these circuits can basically be boiled down to two particular things. The first is value information, trying to understand whether or not something is really worth pursuing or not. The other component of this neural circuit is associated with action, which actions to take, and which actions not to take given the value of a particular goal in a given moment's time.
You're going to hear me say over and over again in this episode, the value information about a goal is so key. Here's why. There is basically one neurotransmitter or rather neuromodulator system that governs our goal setting, goal assessment, and goal pursuit. And that is the neuromodulator dopamine.
Dopamine is the common currency by which we assess our progress toward particular things of particular value. In fact, dopamine is the way that we assess value of our pursuits. There are basically only three or four elements to goal setting and goal pursuit. Basically, an individual or set of individuals has to identify a specific thing that they're going to attain.
Assessment of whether or not one is making progress towards those goals is a second but necessary step. And then there's the business of goal execution. And that brings us back to the neural circuit components. Remember, this neural circuit involving those four things earlier, the amygdala, striatum, or frontal cortex, and the prefrontal cortex,
They work together to divide the whole process, as I mentioned before, into two general categories. The first is assessing value, knowing whether or not where one is at one given moment relates to some external thing. Are things going well or are things going poorly? And knowing how to gauge that accurately. And then action steps, goes and no-goes. Do more of this, do less of that.
Do this, don't do that, et cetera. So now we are going to shift back to the neuroscience. And as we do this, I'd like you to keep in mind, what are some things that you've either accomplished or that you'd like to accomplish going forward?
Because as we do this, we can build toward a set of protocols that at the end, you'll be able to very quickly plug in your particular goals and a route to those particular goals that's grounded in the science. And I think are going to be very effective in allowing you to reach those goals more quickly and with indeed less effort.
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