I’ve recently made a discovery that’s made a radical difference to my levels of productivity and motivation. I thought I’d share it with you.
How? Well, I stopped being a slave to ‘goal setting’.
Since becoming a somatic coach, I learned more about the nuances of listening and working with the body’s innate intelligence. I heard this piece of scientific research about the impact of goal setting on body and mind.
Goal setting increases stress levels and reduces access to the brain’s creative centre. It’s a logical process that can limit associative thinking.
Whereas dreaming or visioning increases our creative circuitry in the brain, and it lowers our stress levels. When dreaming about what we want, the whole brain is involved as the process of imagination stimulates the wider network. This means that it is also a more profound and fulfilling experience.
Try it for yourself. Compare how these two questions affect you when you ponder on them.
- What do you specifically want to achieve by the end of this week?
- How would you imagine a great week to be?
For me – the word achieve has always felt like an immediate pressure. What also occurs to me is that I can feel an egotistical response kick in. It’s as if my brain defaults to a limited list of things I ought to do, and a subtle feeling of both pressure and resistance feel intrinsic in this question.
Whereas the second question immediately feels more relaxing and enjoyable. I imagine a range of things that would feel pleasurable, and the question takes away the ‘ought’ that feels intrinsic in the word achieve. When I ask myself to imagine a great week, I also see myself working in a productive way. A great week is not eating chocolate or scanning Facebook – I imagine myself writing, thinking of new ideas, eating healthy food, exercising.
And with the idea of dreaming – it’s proven that using our imagination also increases our brain chemicals that boost motivation.
This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t ever write goals, as they can be helpful in terms of clarifying where you want to get to, however, if only goals are used, it can be detrimental to health and wellbeing as it induces a state of anxiety that you ‘must’.
When I’ve started with dreaming and visioning, I find the goals that come out of this process are more aligned with my purpose.
Would love to know what you’re dreaming about this year? Do share one with me below!
All the best
Nicky x
