Did you know that one of the leading neuroscientists who contributed to theories about goal setting now has a different opinion? Richard Boyatzis contributed to the thinking behind setting SMART goals back in the 1970s.
Image from psychologytoday.com
While this method above was ground-breaking, our understanding of neuroscience has evolved significantly in the last 50 years - so I think it’s worth re-visiting how we set goals.
The recent problem that Richard has identified is that whilst setting goals fires off neural pathways that help us to focus and think analytically (helpful), it also shuts down the part of the brain responsible for learning. This means that we’re no longer in a space of creating options, identifying alternatives, opening ourselves to different thinking.
Our goals can end up being too narrow/ not what we truly want, because we didn't take time to explore first. So it follows that we need to get our juicy creative thinking done BEFORE we want to channel this into a goal or intention.
SMART goals can be very helpful (personally I prefer intention setting) so please keep doing it if it helps you - just make sure to do your deeper thinking before your brain narrows its focus and you limit your options. That’s something worth knowing, right?
Here’s a guide for broader thinking ahead of deciding what your goals are:
• Visualise a great day a year from now
• What are you seeing, hearing, thinking, feeling that day?
• What outcomes must you have created in order to be living this way? E.g. does this perfect day mean you’ve left your current job and started something new.
• What are some of the actions you took to make this happen?
This is a way of dreaming about the future that’s compatible with how our brains work.
Our unconscious mind doesn’t know the difference between real and not real, it just absorbs the information you put in it. So start filling it with your ideal outcomes. Get creative. Then if you want extra focus, narrow that down into a goal. Hit comment and let me know what you make of this ‘neuroscience upgrade.’
P.S. In short, don't jump into goal setting too early or you could head down the wrong path. First get creative, consider options, dream bigger, and then when you want to narrow your focus look at putting that into a goal.
P.P.S. There's 2 ways you can currently work with me: 1) a 2 hour breakthrough NLP session 2) a 4 session coaching programme over 2 months. All phone based. When you're ready, hit reply and we'll agree which approach best serves your goal.