Griff Foxley

executive & integral coach | strategic advisor | writer, - brief, tactical support for leaders & creatives. Subscribe for coaching insights

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And that is the essence of goal directed behavior.”

Here’s the 5 step Spacetime Bridge process, to be repeated 2-3 times. The whole practice can be completed in 3 minutes:

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5. Lastly, expand your vision as wide as possible. No focus, just softening and widening the gaze so that you can see everything in your periphery. Do this for three breaths.

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Goal Persistence // Build a Spacetime Bridge

“This behavior, or this practice, is teaching us to use our visual system and thereby our cognitive system, and thereby our reward systems, to orient to different locations in space, and therefore to different locations in time...

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Recent post on The Pocket: "The Neuroscience of Achieving Your Goals: Eight Specific, Actionable, Science-Backed Strategies" -- subscribe at https://t.co/hmPI1ECysy

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Once you’re used to the practice, you can use it to get adaptive, figure out what works and what needs shifting. But the bottom line: the pat on the brain is a dopamine hit that keeps the momentum on the goals. Celebrate progress.

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Goal Persistence // A Pat on the Brain / Reward Your Effort

Take the time at the end of the week to note to yourself, “what progress did I make on my goal over the past week?” It could be simple and quick or a proper journaling exercise; whatever works for you.

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Goal Persistence

> “The neurochemistry of long-term goal pursuit feeds off the belief that you’re on the right track.” (Dr. Andrew Huberman)

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Goal Pursuit // Focus Your Eyes to Focus Your Mind

We’re still a hunter-gatherer species. Going after a goal follows the same circuitry as hunting. Engage the goal pursuit pathway of the brain by simply focusing your vision on a single point for 30-60 minutes. See what happens.

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>>> Goal Pursuit // Procrastinate with Other Tasks

Prime the pump strategy: before you tackle the goal for the day, pick 3 small tasks to complete — organize your desk, water the plants, do the dishes, etc. The mini adrenaline dose motivates the bigger work to come.

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Here’s a journaling practice to map and avoid obstacles to your success. Every day, take five minutes to a) write a few goals to achieve during the day, b) list the obstacles you imagine coming up, and c) describe tactics for overcoming those obstacles should they come up.

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>>> Goal Pursuit // Outsmart Your Obstacles — aka “foreshadowing failure”

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But science shows that can also make us lazy because it feels good to imagine that positive future, which then drops our energy. Instead or in addition, imagine just how bad it will be if you don’t achieve the goal, and again, be specific about how bad and why.

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>>> Goal Pursuit // Imagine the Worst

There’s some good reason to do positive visualization when goal setting. Imagining the goal’s success with clarity and specificity lays a flag in the future for your present self to work towards.

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>>> Goal Setting // Make a Plan

Once you have that sizable goal set, it’s mission-critical to create a clear, specific plan. Think SMART goals — the more detailed the better for your brain.

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That’s the magic number for motivation and grit.

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>>> Goal Setting // The 85% Rule

You’re setting a new goal. The question emerges: how hairy should the goal be? Too small and it’s not inspiring; too big and it’s disarming. Science shows that you should set the goal such that you could anticipate achieving it 85% of the time.

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>>Strategies for Achieving Goals

Using the architecture of our brilliant brains, we can devise adaptive and effective strategies for setting, executing, and sticking with our designed goals. Here’s eight specific, actionable, science-backed strategies: