Most goal-setting advice is flawed. After many years of studying neuroscience, coaching and human behaviour, I’ve seen many smart, capable people struggle to achieve goals—not because they lack motivation, but because their approach to goal-setting works against the brain’s natural wiring.
We’ve all set ourselves ambitious goals only to fall short, so if you’re the guilty feeling squirm, you’re not alone. The problem isn’t a flaw in us… it’s because traditional goal-setting techniques haven’t been designed to align with the way our brains work.
The Problem with Traditional Goal-Setting
Run a Google search or attend a goal setting training course and you’re most likely to learn popular techniques like setting SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound). Many of these sound logical but often backfire – maybe this is why 92% of people fail to achieve their new year’s goals. It’s like trying to navigate a car using only the final destination on your GPS.
When you set a goal like “Lose 10 kilos by June”, your brain experiences goal-gradient anxiety. The prefrontal cortex—responsible for planning and decision-making—gets overwhelmed by the gap between your current reality and your desired outcome. This triggers the limbic system’s threat response, which leads to those two nasty goal setting roadblocks – procrastination and self-sabotage.
So essentially, your brain fights against your best intentions.
Why Vague Goals Fall Flat
We often set abstract goals like “be more confident” or “get fit”. Your brain processes information through sensory channels—what you see, hear, feel, taste, and smell. Vague intentions bypass the brain’s visualisation centres, which evolved to drive action through creating a vivid mental image.
Consider the difference between these two goals:
- “I want to present better.”
- “I want to see my audience engaged, nodding and leaning forward. I will hear their engaged questions, and feel calm, assertive and confident as I speak.”
The second example activates your visual, auditory, and kinaesthetic neural pathways, creating a mental blueprint that your brain can act on.
The Role of Values in Goal-Setting
Even the clearest sensory-rich goals can fail if they conflict with your core values. Your brain’s reward system, is linked to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and this lights up when your goals align with your personal values. When it is aligned, it releases neurochemicals that boost motivation and drive.
For example:
- A goal to “earn more money or get a promotion” might fail if your core value is creativity and innovation. Instead, reframe it as: “Pioneer innovative solutions that advance both my career and client success while maintaining work-life balance.”
Common Goal Setting Mistakes
- Setting Non-Sensory Goals: Replace abstract goals with sensory-rich ones. For instance, swap “grow my business” with:
- “See my team of 10 employees collaborating in a dynamic up market office, hear the buzz of productive conversations, and feel the energy of a thriving workplace and confidence of a successful business.”
- Neglecting Value Alignment: Ensure your goals resonate with your core values. Misaligned goals drain motivation and hinder success. Ask WHY this goal is important.
- Focusing on Endpoints Instead of Systems: Your brain craves immediate rewards. Instead of fixating only on the endpoint, design systems that trigger daily dopamine hits and reinforce positive habits. Daily habits repeated over time, lead to success.
- Setting Goals in Isolation: Social neuroscience shows that we’re wired for connection. Accountability allies—a coach, mentor, or supportive friend—can significantly boost your success rate.
- Ignoring Identity-Based Outcomes: Goals that conflict with your self-image are doomed to fail. For lasting change, focus on shifting your self-narrative and understanding your “why”.
- Setting Goals Out of Fear or Scarcity: When the intent behind the goal is related to fear for example, wanting to get fit because I am afraid of being over weight and ridiculed, the motivational aspect of that goal can be short lived. It can also trigger threat response. Goals that are based on a compelling vision of the future are far more effective.
How to Work with Your Brain, Not Against It
The Solution:
- Design Sensory-Rich Systems: Make your goals as vivid as a memory. Incorporate what success will look, sound, and feel like.
- Align Goals with Values: Reflect on your core values and ensure your outcomes resonate deeply.
- Focus on Habits and Identity: Think less about what you want to achieve and more about who you need to become and how you will get there – the habits, beliefs and processes that will move you towards your outcome.
- Develop Goals that Excite You: Create outcomes that compel you to action and move you towards an ideal future state of being.
By focusing on actionable, value-driven systems, you stop fighting against your neural wiring and start leveraging it.
Transform Your Goal Setting Strategy
Your brain doesn’t understand abstract and vague concepts—it understands experiences. When you align your goals with your identity, and your deepest values and you make them sensory-rich, supported by a plan and habits for achieving them, you create a neurological roadmap your brain can follow – and this lights the way to success.
Ready to revolutionise your approach to achievement?
At Thinck, we help individuals and teams design neuroscience-backed strategies for lasting success.
Contact us at hello@thinck.co.za for a no-obligation chat about how we can help you rewire your goal-setting strategy.
Share Your Experience
What interesting goals are you working toward? What makes a difference in your motivation or results? Share your thoughts in the comments below!is