##################################################################### The Science of Setting & Achieving Goals ##################################################################### (Summary from `this video `_ by Andrew Huberman). * failing 15% of time = optimal for learning * much of goal directed behavior is to avoid things which cause fear * four areas which affect goals #. anxiety/fear #. action and inaction #. planning and thinking #. emotionality (where we sit at emotionality right now and where we think we will be upon accomplishing goal) * two primary components of goals: #. value information - understanding if something is worth pursuing and which actions to take and #. which actions not to take given the value of a goal * one neurotransmitter which governs goals, assessment, and setting value of pursuits = dopamine * 3 things for goal pursuit #. goal setting #. assessment #. goal execution. ============================================================================ Multitasking and Focus ============================================================================ * understand difference between peripersonal space (all space within inside of body and immediate environment) and extrapersonal space (everything beyond the confines of your reach / internal and immediate environment) * moving towards any goal means setting thinking towards extrapersonal * human beings have to make evaluations if they are on the right track * multitasking is good but has to be placed at a specific time within goal seeking behavior to be effective * most people can hold attention for about 3 minutes at a time * when we multitask, there is an increase in adrenaline. doing multitasking prior to goal directed behavior is useful because it gets us into action. * don't want to multitask during goal pursuit behavior * visual focus, and contracting visual window to a fine point can increase clarity of goal seeking and chance you will pursue your goals * looking at narrow piece of visual world and forcing self to hold that point increases cognitive ability and focus * when we focus on an external point, we focus on the extrapersonal space. we are placing vision on a point outside external body, thus putting body into goal pursuing mode * looking at a specific visual point decreases perception of effort and increases efficiency * visual focus on one location puts body into state of readiness which promotes pursuit of goal * understand mental frame and attention are always positioned towards peripersonal or extrapersonal space. * keep in mind the goal you want to pursue, then focus vision on one point outside of peripersonal space. hold vision from 30-60 seconds. this puts brain in mode of action. then move into particular actions which lead towards accomplishment of goal ============================================================================ Visualization - Is it effective? ============================================================================ * visualization of the end goal is effective in getting the goal process started, however not good for maintaining the goal * over time the visual of the end goal becomes a poor thing to rely on in maintaining the goal * visualizing failure is the optimal way towards accomplishing the goal. thinking about all the ways one could fail en route to said goal * near doubling in probability of reaching a goal if focusing routinely on foreshadowing failure - thinking about the way things could fail if you did this or that or didn't take this action #. option a : think about how great you will feel at end point (good at start) #. option b : think about what's gonna happen if you don't do this? (good for maintaining progress) * foreshadowing failure is best way to reach goals. think about how bad its going to be if you fail. how disappointing in yourself you will feel if you don't do it, how negatively it will impact you, how much you will regret not doing it, etc. * the more specific you can get in writing and visualizing how bad its going to be if you don't do it, the greater chance you will attain your goal (note: this made me laugh) * the brain is much better at moving away from fearful things than towards things we want * visualize in a positive away at beginning of goal, then focus on avoiding failure, and be very clear on what those failures would look like and feel like * what kind of goal does it need to be? inspirational and exciting. when people set goals, if goal is too easy it doesn't recruit enough of nervous system to make pursuit of said goal likely. if a goal is too far away/hard, it produces a similar outcome. * when goals are moderate/moderately hard, just out of immediate abilities, or one felt that would take a lot of effort but is in range, then there was near doubling in likelihood of engaging in pursuit of said goal. * limit your options - pursuing too many goals at once can be counterproductive. set 1-3 major goals. * people orientate their attention towards what is in front of us. visual sparseness helps focus on our goals. try and create physical surroundings in alignment with said goals/eliminate distractions. * there needs to be a concrete plan. a specific set of action steps that get right down to what success would look like. * goals need to have extremely specific and detailed information about action steps in pursuit of goal, and we need to constantly be updating those action steps so that have a higher probability of meeting those action steps * how often should one assess progress? weekly is a good starting place for addressing performance. based on performance, update action steps for upcoming week ============================================================================ How to optimize dopamine for pursuit of goals? ============================================================================ * dopamine is the molecule of motivation. * dopamine - reward prediction error: dopamine released in greatest amount when something happens that is positive and novel. if we anticipate something positive we receive a lesser amount of dopamine in the anticipation than if it was novel. * biggest increases in dopamine = positive and unexpected. * lesser dopamine = positive expected things happen. * predict something good = increase in dopamine, however if predicted thing doesn't occur, there is large drop in dopamine (disappointment) * being forced to do something is unhealthy * our subjective understanding of why we are doing something is fundamentally important towards accomplishment * pick a interval to assess progress and if you have been making progress, then you reward yourself. the reward is all mental. example: saying "yes I am on the right track" at interval (this provides dopamine) * do this at an interval which you can maintain consistently. daily or weekly. consistency is key * predict and visualize failure, but do not think of ourselves as failing. think and act in a way attune with success and reward yourself from successful actions. * cold showers are good for long lasting dopamine * visual focus increases motivation, readiness, and willingness. when visual focus diffuses, we become relaxed and comfortable in personal space, and are less likely to pursue goals * plan concretely. concrete set of actions to follow * focus on particular points to remove distractors and get body ready for forward motion towards goals * "space time bridging" - using visual system to focus on peripersonal space then gradually stepping into extrapersonal space then back into peripersonal * tool for accomplishing goals: go somewhere indoor or outdoor but ideally where you can view a horizon. close your eyes and focus as much as your attention and visual attention on inner landscape. breathing, heartrate. imagine your inner landscape, eliminate perception of outer world. focus on everything within your body. 100% internal. do this for 3 deep breaths. then open your eyes, and focus your visual attention to an area on the surface of your body. try to focus on internal state and a little bit of external. 90% internal 10% external. do this for 3 deep breaths. then focus attention towards 10-15 feet away. 90% external and 10% internal for 3 deep breaths. then move visual attention towards horizon or as far off as you can see. 100% attention towards external location for 3 deep breaths. then try and expand vision and cognition to a much broader sphere. dilate field of view so you can see as much as possible of external surroundings for 3 breaths. then return immediately to internal landscape for 3 breaths and once again entirely focus on internal landscape. repeat this process 2-3 times * this practice teaches us to orientate to different locations in space, therefore different locations in time, which is the fundamental essence of goals