Huberman Lab

Dr. Emily Balcetis: Tools for Setting & Achieving Goals

Aug 1, 2022

Dr. Emily Balcetis, a prominent Professor of Psychology at NYU, shares her expertise on motivation and goal-setting. She discusses how visual perception influences our ability to achieve complex goals, highlighting innovative strategies to adjust focus and enhance motivation. Tools like the 'Spotlight' technique and the goal gradient hypothesis are introduced to help listeners effectively track progress and overcome obstacles. Balcetis emphasizes the importance of visual aids and active engagement in successful goal setting, making her insights both actionable and inspiring.

01:35:02

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Episode guests

Emily Balcetis

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Quick takeaways

Narrowing visual focus during exercise can improve performance and motivation.

Visualizing specific goals enhances motivation and increases effort and resource investment.

Anticipating and planning for obstacles increases motivation and helps overcome setbacks.

Breaking down long-term goals into smaller, manageable steps enhances focus, persistence, and achievement.

Deep dives

Using Visual Strategies to Enhance Exercise Performance

Visualizing a specific goal or target during exercise can significantly enhance performance. When athletes narrow their focus of attention to a specific point or target, they are able to exert more effort and achieve better results. This strategy, inspired by observations of elite sprinters and runners, induces an illusion of proximity and motivates individuals to push harder. By imagining a spotlight on the target and tuning out peripheral distractions, exercisers can improve their speed, burn calories more efficiently, and experience less discomfort during workouts. The strategy of narrowing visual attention can be taught to individuals who are not elite athletes, making it a practical tool for anyone looking to enhance their exercise performance.

Goal Setting - What's the Better Strategy?

02:03

Making the goals seem easier to achieve

03:23

Animal studies on motivation science in the 1940s and 50s

01:42

Goal progress vs brain perception of progress

01:24

Intro

4min

Tailored Supplements and Cognitive Enhancement

4min

Vision and Motivation in Goal Setting

26min

Harnessing Visual Strategies for Goal Motivation

4min

Rethinking Goal Visualization

9min

Vision's Role in Motivation and Reality

25min

Navigating Personal Development Amid Life Changes

24min

Summary of Insights on Motivation and Goal-Setting

2min

My guest this episode is Dr. Emily Balcetis, PhD, Professor of Psychology at New York University (NYU). Dr. Balcetis’ research focuses on how our perception of the world, particularly our visual perceptions, influences our level and persistence of motivation, how we conceptualize goals, actual goal achievement, and our emotional state as we pursue goals. Dr. Balcetis explains how to best visualize and overcome challenges in pursuit of larger, complex goals. We also discuss the science of how to define goals and intermediate milestones, overcome obstacles, and effectively track progress. This episode highlights science-based, immediately actionable tools that anyone can use to set and achieve physical and/or cognitive goals more effectively.

For the full show notes, visit hubermanlab.com

Thank you to our sponsors

AG1: https://athleticgreens.com/huberman

LMNT: https://drinklmnt.com/hubermanlab

Waking Up: https://wakingup.com/huberman

Momentous: https://livemomentous.com/huberman

Timestamps

(00:00:00) Dr. Emily Balcetis, Visualization of Goals & Motivation

(00:03:41) Sponsors: LMNT

(00:08:08) Vision & Motivation

(00:11:37) Tool: Narrowing Visual Focus & Improving Exercise

(00:21:39) Adjusting Visual Attention & Perceived Fatigue

(00:25:14) Tool: Visual Focus “Spotlight”

(00:27:57) Tool: Goal Gradient Hypothesis, Visual Spotlight to Increase Effort

(00:32:23) Sponsor: AG1

(00:35:00) Defining Goals vs. Accomplishing Goals, Dream Boards & Goal Lists

(00:41:28) Tool: How to Setting Better Goals & Identify Obstacles

(00:46:38) Vision is Unique, Challenging the Visual System, Realistic Goals & Micro-Goals

(00:57:12) Do Fit People View the World Differently?, States of Body & Visual Experiences

(01:05:54) Caffeine, Stimulants, Visual Windows & Motivation

(01:10:13) Tools: Goal Setting & Cognitive (Non-Physical) Goals, Data Collection

(01:21:54) Year in Review & Memory

(01:26:32) Visual Tools & Mental Health, Depression & Visual Priming

(01:31:33) Focusing Attention & Increasing Visual Detail/Resolution

(01:36:12) Zero-Cost Support, YouTube Feedback, Spotify & Apple Reviews, Sponsors, Neural Network Newsletter, Instagram, Twitter, Momentous Supplements

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Huberman Lab

Dr. Emily Balcetis: Tools for Setting & Achieving Goals

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

Using Visual Strategies to Enhance Exercise Performance

The Role of Vision in Motivation and Goal Setting

Anticipating and Overcoming Obstacles for Goal Success

The Power of Breaking Goals into Manageable Steps

The Power of Vision in Prioritizing and Perceiving the World

Using Visual Tools to Achieve Goals

The Impact of Energy and Visual Perception

Applying Visual Tools in Mental Health and Cognitive Goals

Goal Setting - What's the Better Strategy?

Making the goals seem easier to achieve

Animal studies on motivation science in the 1940s and 50s

Goal progress vs brain perception of progress

Thank you to our sponsors

Timestamps

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Huberman Lab

Dr. Emily Balcetis: Tools for Setting & Achieving Goals

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

Using Visual Strategies to Enhance Exercise Performance

The Role of Vision in Motivation and Goal Setting

Anticipating and Overcoming Obstacles for Goal Success

The Power of Breaking Goals into Manageable Steps

The Power of Vision in Prioritizing and Perceiving the World

Using Visual Tools to Achieve Goals

The Impact of Energy and Visual Perception

Applying Visual Tools in Mental Health and Cognitive Goals

Goal Setting - What's the Better Strategy?

Making the goals seem easier to achieve

Animal studies on motivation science in the 1940s and 50s

Goal progress vs brain perception of progress

Thank you to our sponsors

Timestamps

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