{"id":11163,"date":"2018-08-16T01:00:13","date_gmt":"2018-08-16T08:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.drumeo.com\/beat\/?p=11163"},"modified":"2023-01-24T10:19:23","modified_gmt":"2023-01-24T18:19:23","slug":"3-brain-hacks-to-crush-your-goals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.drumeo.com\/beat\/3-brain-hacks-to-crush-your-goals\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Genius Brain Hacks To Crush Your Goals"},"content":{"rendered":"

When it comes to goals, your brain can be your best friend or your worst enemy.<\/strong><\/h4>\n

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Sometimes, you can\u2019t \u201cjust do it.\u201d It\u2019s not a matter of desire or commitment – you\u2019ve crushed your goals in the past. You know what to do. But somehow, you keep getting thrown off your game. Sticking to our goals isn\u2019t as easy as it sounds. Why? Because knowing what to do isn\u2019t the problem. It\u2019s the doing that\u2019s difficult.<\/p>\n

The fact is, your brain is hardwired to be lazy. Actually, it really just wants to be more efficient, so it does everything within its power to save time and energy. The more tasks your brain can put on autopilot, the happier it is. If you try to force it to do too many things, it\u2019s going to start to hate you. And, it will make you pay for overtaxing its energy system. Leveraging your brain chemistry puts you in a proactive position of power.<\/p>\n

Your Brain on Goals<\/b><\/h4>\n

Your brain\u2019s reward circuity responds to gratification. The problem is, goal setting starts and ends with the (thinking) prefrontal cortex, but it\u2019s your (emotional) limbic system that\u2019s in charge. To stay motivated, you\u2019re going to have to rely heavily on dopamine. Dopamine is the neurotransmitter that plays the primary role in reward and motivation. It supplies the pleasure juice and drives the feeling of desire. Any behavior that gives you a dopamine rush will train your brain to want to do it to get the same rush.<\/p>\n

But, that\u2019s not the whole story. Although dopamine will give you the quick pleasure rush, serotonin will cause happiness in the long run. Serotonin is a mood stabilizer that helps you feel content and empowered. Other neurotransmitters are also involved with goal attainment, but dopamine and serotonin are the two kingpins. The struggle begins when your brain realizes it\u2019s going to have to wait (sometimes for a very l-o-n-g time) before it\u2019s rewarded for achieving the goal. It gets worse when it realizes you don\u2019t even know what it\u2019s going to take to achieve the goal.<\/p>\n

The good news is you can take advantage of brain chemicals that compel you to \u201cwant\u201d and \u201cdo\u201d by implementing strategies that play into their power. The following are three simple, highly-effective and empowering strategies to move you into action.<\/p>\n

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1. Crack Your Habit Code<\/strong><\/h3>\n

To master the art of doing, you must be able to crack your habit code. Habits are predictable patterns that run on autopilot. The actual neurobiology of habit making and breaking is somewhat complicated. However, you can learn to leverage the neural-loop of your habit code without having to overthink the process. <\/span><\/p>\n

Your code consists of three elements: a trigger (the cue that starts the habit), a ritual (the behavior you want) and a reward (the feeling you get once you\u2019ve done the behavior). If you want to create or break a habit, you must figure out which elements need to change. Here are three simple steps to get you back on track:<\/span><\/p>\n