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One of the most disturbing feelings for many people is the perception of lack of control. When we feel helpless, or believe we have the inability to change things, we surrender our will to outside forces. For some, this external emphasis is devastating because we are conditioned to believe we have control of our motivation. However, according to how our brain works, we have minimal influence over how thoughts and beliefs turn into action. As a result, negative emotions may develop. Are feelings of frustration, remorse, or even depression justified? The answer is a resounding “yes,” but what matters more is what we do within the limits of our motivational destiny.
The notion that we lack free will over our actions, while sometimes hard to believe, is supported by extensive neuroscience research. Libet’s classic brain activity experiments (Libet et al., 1983) showed that a decision occurs neurologically several hundred milliseconds before a person becomes consciously aware of making that decision. This finding has been consistently replicated using many different types of decision-making tasks (Braun et al., 2021). In other words, given specific choices, neuroimaging shows and can predict which choice you will make up to 10 seconds before you make the decision (Soon et al., 2008).
The predetermined nature of our actions stems from how our brain processes rewards and motivates behavior. Your brain has a distinct neural pathway (primary areas of connectivity) that automatically evaluate reward and drive motivated behavior (Bromberg-Martin et al. 2010). When presented with a potential reward, such as something we desire, the neurotransmitter dopamine is released involuntarily, enhancing the urge to act. Synthesis and transmission of dopamine can be monitored with a variety of imaging techniques, including fMRI. Your brain doesn’t care what you find rewarding—as long as it thinks the reward is potentially satisfying and within your grasp. When you make progress toward the reward your brain wants more of whatever you crave, in turn releasing more feel-good dopamine. The pattern of what we desire and what our brain needs is based on evolutionary adaptations and past experiences. As you might guess, craving the wrong thing can be detrimental, and repeated satisfaction of the reward urge can often lead to addiction.
What seems like a personal decision is really not. Often described as intuition or “gut feelings,” responses are determined by a long history of heredity in combination with adjustments influenced by environment and culture. Just like physical features like eye color and height are genetically determined, so are motivation and emotional responses, such as susceptibility to anger or being described as a “free spirit.” While it may seem like we are in command, these spontaneous actions (or inactions) aren’t under conscious control but significantly influence how we react. This doesn’t mean we’re powerless. While we may not have direct control over our impulses and motivations, we can work within our brain’s natural reward systems to achieve desired outcomes.
Leverage the power of plasticity
Brain plasticity promotes adaptation, shaping our behavior through experiences and interactions. While we have inherent response tendencies, our neural pathways change in response to where we are, social connections, and the cultural context. This adaptability is evident in simple learning experiences—like avoiding a hot stove after being burned, but it extends to more complex changes. Rather than attempting to override our reward system, we can strategically create environments that align with our brain’s natural pattern of dopamine release, which occurs when we make progress toward goals. The specific goals are less important than the interaction. By intentionally placing ourselves in the right environments, like avoiding a grocery store when hunger, we can provide our brain with the necessary conditions to modify undesirable behaviors.
Utilizes self-reward
We can shift our brain toward replacing less desirable rewards like overeating, alcohol abuse, or gambling, with many different socially desirable behaviors that have far fewer social or emotional consequences. This means through taking pauses in what often gives us a dopamine boost we can reset our brains to seek the same rewarding feeling just in different ways. By example, if it rains everyday for a week, once the rain stops and you go outside you truly appreciate the sunshine. If it’s sunny every day, you hardly notice. The same applies to eating your favorite food every day. Before long, it gets boring and tiresome. A hiatus from whatever is deflating will increase dopamine synthesis by allowing the brain to recalibrate what provides pleasure. Through avoidance of what we find pleasurable, we actually increase the value of whatever it is we find rewarding.
Promote awareness
While we can’t eliminate impulses, we can gradually train our brain to be more aware of what we are doing and avoid setting ourselves up for failure. Much of our behavior is based on context. Put yourself in a bar and you are more prone to drink alcohol. Pass by a school and you might think about continuing your education. What matters most is avoiding those places and situations that have the potential for negative consequences. Although we can’t directly control thoughts and feelings, developing metacognitive awareness, which happens when we make a conscious effort toward planning and monitoring our behavior, makes a difference. Awareness helps to recognize and change patterns in our automatic responses.
The key is accepting that while we can’t override our brain’s basic operating system, we can work within its parameters more effectively. Rather than fighting against our neurological limitations, success comes from understanding and strategically working with our brain’s natural tendencies. Think of it like sailing—we can’t control the wind, but by understanding wind patterns and properly positioning our sails, we can still reach our destination. Similarly, by understanding our neurological constraints and implementing evidence-based strategies, we can achieve our goals even without direct control over our motivational systems.
