Rethinking Goal Setting: Why Neuroscience May Be the Missing Ingredient

Most of us were taught to set goals using a familiar checklist: make them specific, write them down, visualize the outcome, stay motivated. And while these steps sound helpful, they rarely lead to lasting results. In fact, many people report feeling overwhelmed, discouraged, or unsure how to move forward just weeks after setting their goals.

So what if the problem isn’t you—but the method?

Recent insights from neuroscience, popularized in part by people like Dr. Andrew Huberman, reveal something surprising:
Your brain is not wired to achieve goals the way we’ve traditionally been taught to set them.
When we ignore the brain’s natural motivational systems, we create friction, burnout, and disappointment. But when we harness those systems intentionally, goals start to feel more aligned, energizing, and possible.

The Hidden Engine Behind Goal Achievement

Inside the brain, there’s a powerful chemical messenger—dopamine—that influences motivation, focus, and forward movement. You’ve heard of it, but what most people don’t realize is this:

Dopamine isn’t just the “reward chemical.”
It’s the fuel that keeps you engaged in the pursuit.

Typical goal setting focuses nearly entirely on the end result—a moment far in the future. That means the brain often receives very little reinforcement during the actual process, which makes it harder to stay consistent, especially when goals are big or emotionally charged.

But neuroscience shows us that motivation isn’t created by the finish line.
It’s built by how the brain interprets progress, challenge, uncertainty, and meaning—day by day.

When you understand these systems, you can design goals in a way that works with your biology instead of against it.

Why Traditional Goal Setting Falls Short

Here’s what most people do:

• Choose a goal based on what they think they “should” want.

• Break it into steps that feel overwhelming or unrealistic.

• Hope that motivation will magically appear.

• Burn out when emotions, stress, or life disrupt the plan.

Neuroscience shows that this approach accidentally triggers the parts of the brain associated with threat, pressure, and avoidance. In other words, traditional goal setting can create a stress response, not a motivational one.

The result?
Goals start feeling heavier than life-giving.

A Different Way Forward—One Rooted in the Brain

There’s a growing body of research showing that when we align goal setting with how the nervous system actually operates, three things happen:

1. Motivation stops feeling like a limited resource.
   Instead, it becomes renewable and self-generated.

2. The path becomes clearer, because the brain has structure for tracking meaningful progress.

3. Resilience increases, allowing us to navigate setbacks without spiraling into self-criticism.

This isn’t about hype, discipline hacks, or willpower.
It’s about engaging the systems in the brain responsible for desire, momentum, adaptability, and long-term fulfillment.

And once people experience this shift, their entire relationship with goals—and with themselves—changes.

Why This Matters for Intensive Work

If you’re considering stepping into an intensive experience, the goal-setting process you bring into that space matters. You don’t need goals that merely sound good; you need goals that activate you—emotionally, mentally, and neurologically.

In our intensives, we use a neuroscience-supported approach to help you:

• Build goals that your brain wants to pursue

• Reduce the friction and self-sabotage that often appear

• Create a structure that reinforces progress

• Align your goals with your deeper internal drivers, not just external expectations

I won’t give away the full method here—it’s something best experienced in a guided process. But here’s what I can say:

When your goals are shaped through the lens of neuroscience, the change feels different.
It feels possible. It feels alive. It feels like momentum.

This isn’t about setting bigger goals.
It’s about setting better ones—goals that your brain naturally supports rather than resists.

If You’re Curious… You’re Already Moving

Curiosity is one of the most powerful motivational states the brain can generate.
It means something inside you is already leaning forward.

If you’re wondering what goal setting could feel like when it’s aligned with how your brain actually works, or you’re craving a different outcome than past attempts have given you, our goal-setting intensive may be the next right move.

You don’t have to overhaul your life to create meaningful change.
You just need to learn how to work with the system that runs everything—your nervous system.

Goal Setting for Mental Fitness & Business Growth: How to Build Your Short, Medium, and Long-Term Vision

If you’ve worked with me, you know I believe one thing deeply:

Clarity is a form of mental fitness.

When your mind knows where it's going, your business follows.

Most business owners aren’t missing talent, effort, or passion—they’re missing a structured way to turn their ideas into momentum. That’s why I love the framework from Vivid Vision and how it helps leaders build a picture of their future that’s so clear it becomes almost inevitable.

But vision alone isn’t enough.
You need a strategy that connects right now to the future you’re building.

In mental fitness and business coaching, I teach a three-tier approach:

• Short-term (This Week): Action goals

• Medium-term (90 Days): Strategic goals

• Long-term (3 Years): Vision goals

This structure helps you stay grounded, focused, and emotionally regulated while also creating forward movement in your business.

Let’s break it down.

1. Short-Term Goals (This Week)

These goals strengthen mental fitness by creating momentum, confidence, and clarity.

Weekly goals keep you tethered to action. They protect you from overwhelm and help you measure progress in real time. From a mental fitness perspective, short-term goals are powerful because they reduce cognitive load—your brain doesn’t have to hold a thousand ideas at once.

Weekly goals should be:

• small

• specific

• tied to behavior, not outcomes

• achievable with the time you realistically have

• directly connected to your 90-day targets

Examples:

• “Reach out to three referral partners.”

• “Complete the new client intake workflow draft.”

• “Run 15 miles this week.”

• “Automate one admin task.”

• “Schedule a supervision meeting or team check-in.”

Weekly goals are about consistency, not heroics.
Consistency builds trust with yourself—and trust builds confidence.

2. Medium-Term Goals (90 Days)

This is the most powerful timeframe for business growth and mental resilience.

Ninety days is a long enough window to make meaningful progress, but short enough to keep urgency alive. It's also the perfect container for avoiding burnout: you can push hard for 90 days when you know recovery and recalibration are coming.

In my coaching, I teach 90-day goals as your “strategic anchors.”

They should:

• move a major needle in your business

• be measurable

• reflect your core priorities (not distractions)

• feel challenging but realistic

• align directly with your 3-year vision

Examples:

• “Hire 1–2 clinicians to expand the practice.”

• “Complete policy & procedure updates for all locations.”

• “Increase monthly recurring revenue by X%.”

• “Launch a new program, group, or offering.”

• “Build and document two core operational systems.”

• “Increase your weekly mileage to prepare for your next race.”

Ninety-day goals give your business structure and your mind stability. When you know where you’re going for the quarter, you make decisions faster and with more confidence.

3. Long-Term Goals (3-Year Vision)

This is where the philosophy of “Vivid Vision” comes alive.

The three-year vision is what I call your mental North Star.
It’s not a list of tasks—it’s a picture of your future reality.

From a mental fitness standpoint, long-term vision creates emotional alignment. It helps you avoid reactive decision-making and stay anchored when challenges pop up (and they always do).

Your three-year vision should be written as though it already exists:

• What does your business look like?

• How many locations?

• What systems are running?

• How does your team operate?

• What role do you play day-to-day?

• What does your life outside the business look like?

• What does your health, energy, and mental clarity feel like?

When I help business owners map this out, we build a vision that engages all senses—something you can see, feel, and step into mentally long before it becomes real.

This long-term clarity becomes the filter for every business decision you make.

How These Three Layers Work Together

Think of goal-setting like training for an ultramarathon (which I talk about often).

• This week’s miles keep you moving.

• This quarter’s training plan builds your capacity.

• The long-term race goal gives everything meaning.

In business:

• Your weekly goals keep your brain focused and disciplined.

• Your 90-day goals shape your strategy and structure.

• Your 3-year vision keeps your heart and motivation grounded.

Without short-term goals, you drift.
Without medium-term goals, you stall.
Without long-term vision, you burn out.

But when all three align?
Your growth becomes intentional, sustainable, and purpose-driven.

Your Vision Is Only as Strong as Your Mental Fitness

Goal-setting is not just a business exercise—it’s a mental fitness practice.

It trains your ability to:

• stay focused

• regulate your emotions

• organize your thinking

• stay resilient under pressure

• move with direction instead of fear

• build confidence through consistency

• make decisions from clarity, not chaos

This is why high performers in any field—athletes, leaders, founders—constantly revisit their goals. It’s not about perfection.
It’s about alignment.

Your Future Needs Structure, Not Stress

If you haven’t intentionally mapped your week, your quarter, and your three-year vision, you’re not operating with the clarity your brain—and your business—deserve.

Whether you’re:

• growing a practice

• building a team

• preparing for expansion

• or strengthening your leadership

the three-tier goal system will give you focus, momentum, and purpose.

And if you want help building that structure—and creating a mental fitness plan that aligns your mind, your business, and your future—I would love to guide you through the process.

Your vision matters.
Now let’s make it a Pursuit.