How people find better lifegoals: The goal breakthrough model and its neuroscientific underpinnings

Abstract

How do people identify new and better lifegoals for themselves? The goal breakthrough model (GBM) purports to answer this question. The GBM draws from creative process theories of preparation, incubation, illumination, and elaboration to explain how people “cross the Rubicon” to new purposes, in response to felt dissatisfaction. Neuroscience research supporting the GBM is reviewed, highlighting brain‐sequences linking Default Mode Network activity, Cognitive Control Network activity, and Salience Network activity. This understanding of the neural basis of creative goal‐functioning informs an elaborated version of the GBM, one that is less linear and more dynamic than its predecessor model. Overall, the GBM proposes a novel explanation for how people can actively prompt their nonconscious minds to provide new and better behavioral alternatives to consider.