Achieving your goals in 2024: a neuroscience-backed approach

Nerolie is a Partner and Performance Coach at Propel Performance Group. Her drive comes from unlocking the potential in others. She believes that goal setting is a deeply personal and unique process, influenced by individual perspectives of the world. There is no one-size-fits-all approach in this venture, rather, it’s about crafting what you desire and pursuing it. Nerolie says a significant part of her role as a performance coach involves encouraging individuals to set expansive goals. Often, we underestimate our abilities and potential which underlines the importance of striving for bigger goals, as we may not realise just how capable we truly are.

Goal setting is an important step to success, in both your personal and professional life. Having clear goals helps direct your attention and maintain drive, by providing you with a purpose to strive for. Echoing this sentiment, Nerolie emphasises the role neuroscience plays in goal setting. 

“Our brains are constantly filtering an overwhelming amount of information, primarily based on fear and our goals. Without clear goals, we tend to interpret information based on our fears. So, goal setting is a powerful tool to ensure we focus on information that aligns with our aspirations, rather than avoiding what we fear,” says Nerolie. 

According to Nerolie, neuroscience plays a significant role in goal setting and achieving optimal performance by helping us harness our biology to work for us. Certain chemicals, when combined in a particular order, have a profound impact. 

An example of this is oxytocin, also known as the ‘love drug’, which creates those warm and fuzzy feelings. Sharing goals with a friend helps jumpstart the production of oxytocin helping “increase the likelihood of their completion,” says Nerolie. Dopamine is another good example. Dopamine acts on the brain to give you feelings of satisfaction and motivation, which can be triggered by achieving goals, whether they be big or small.

An effective strategy when setting goals is clearly defining what you are aiming to achieve. Failing to thoroughly understand your goals and why they matter can trigger the ‘fresh start effect,’ leading to abandoning resolutions shortly after making them. 

For instance, instead of simply stating, ‘I want to exercise more in 2024,’ it is more beneficial to clearly articulate your objective, such as ‘I will go for a 30-minute walk every day during my lunch break, to help ensure I exercise more this year.’

According to Nerolie, while professional athletes prioritise progress checks and visualise their success daily, only 7% of business executives do. Visualising your goals is crucial, as our brains are unable to distinguish between imagined and real scenarios. 

“By visualising our ‘best year yet’ as if it has already happened, our brain starts collecting supporting data, recognises progress, and fuels our drive to achieve it,” says Nerolie. 

Prioritising regular personal progress checks and visualising success, can significantly improve your chances of having your best year. 

Finally, SMART goals, as outlined by the Mayo Clinic, offer a beneficial framework for setting and achieving goals. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timebound or Trackable¹:

• The ‘Specific’ element encourages setting precise goals such as eliminating fizzy drinks for a week, rather than a vague aim of eating healthier. 
• ‘Measurable’ ensures your goals can be quantified, for instance, walking for 20 minutes three times a week instead of simply wanting to exercise more. 
• ‘Attainable’ advises setting goals that are neither too high nor too low. 
• ‘Realistic’ focuses on choosing goals that are achievable, such as meditating once a week instead of several times a week. 
• Lastly, ‘Timebound’ or ‘Trackable’ implies setting goals that can be achieved within a specific timeframe and tracked regularly through a journal or an app.

The SMART goal approach helps reinforce efforts, monitor progress, and maintain motivation². 

The road to achieving goals is often fraught with challenges and obstacles, many out of our control. These could range from external factors such as lack of money, transport or childcare, to internal aspects like fear of failure or past experiences. 

According to Healthify, to overcome obstacles when pursuing goals, it’s crucial to identify potential barriers and devise strategies to manage them. Focusing on one change at a time can enhance your accomplishment and confidence levels . 

Nerolie says that understanding why the goal is important provides leverage and motivation to help get you through tough times. 

“This ‘why’ is essentially selfcare, ensuring we maintain our ‘oxygen’ to continue,” she says. 

Nerolie also encourages having an ‘unreasonable friend’ to help keep you accountable and ensure you stay on track. This person should be caring enough to hold you to account, but also tough enough to not let you off the hook with excuses. 

It’s also important to seek assistance and support from the people around you. Whether it’s gathering information, getting practical help, or encouragement, your support team is a key player in helping you achieve your ambitions.

Remember, everyone makes mistakes, so be patient with yourself. Maintain your motivation and keep your goal in sight, even in the face of setbacks.

Maintaining momentum and staying motivated is another important aspect of achieving your goals.

Psychology Today lists several helpful tips for staying motivated:

• Understanding your behavioural patterns, particularly where you often stumble, can help address underlying issues that hinder your progress. 
• Ensure you’re emotionally invested in your goal, which often steams from genuine passion. 
• To counter demotivation, seek support from friends, divide tasks into manageable daily activities, and set achievable deadlines to prevent burnout. 
• If you tend to be overly critical of yourself, seek constructive criticism from others to boost your confidence and keep your progress on track⁴.

Nerolie says the first step on achieving your goals, is having the courage to get started.

Sir John Kirwan suggests the ‘Do One Thing’ (DOT) strategy, followed by ‘Do Another Thing’ (DAT), to maintain momentum and progress towards your goals. DOT involves focusing on a single achievable task, without being overwhelmed by the bigger picture⁵. 

DAT is about creating momentum by accomplishing another simple task, leveraging the dopamine boost gained from completing the first task. This process promotes slow and steady progress. 

The cycle of DOT then DAT can be repeated as needed, serving as a helpful tool to overcome feelings of being overwhelmed or unmotivated, particularly on off days.

As we begin 2024, why not try some of these goal-setting strategies to make it your most productive year yet. 

Nerolie’s final piece of advice is to “be where your feet are” and “mind where your mind goes”. This emphasises the importance of being fully present in each moment and curious about what diverts your attention, to help you stay focused and on track.