The true effects of perseverance were lesser known until neuroscientist Dr. Andrew Huberman spoke about it in one of his podcasts. The idea that willpower could physically impact the brain sounded wild, but having athlete David Goggins as a real-life example validated the case.
Recently, Andrew Huberman shared a clip from his conversation with good friend and author Jocko Willink, where he elaborated on this topic. Speaking about how his interaction with colleague Joe Parvizi, a neurosurgeon at Stanford, led him to a study on this subject, the doctor revealed some shocking details.
The anterior mid-cingulate cortex (aMCC) of the brain is almost like a neural hub that receives signals from various systems in the body. This particular part is also related to an individual’s longevity and therefore, holds the key to various occurrences in the body. Dr. Huberman revealed that Dr. Parvizi’s experimentation led to the discovery of a link between this part and willpower.
“He gets in and starts tickling neurons with an electrode in the anterior mid-cingulate cortex, and the patient…says ‘I feel like there’s a storm coming at me, but I’m going to go through it’.”
He observed such results with various patients who responded along similar lines but only when one stimulated their anterior mid-cingulate cortex. Turns out, scientists did not know a lot about the part and its functions until now.
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“Perseverance is a skill that can be built up by activating your anterior mid-cingulate cortex: a neural hub also linked to longevity.”
Dr. Huberman revealed that the aMCC grew in size when subjected to healthy adaptive efforts which the individual performed through productive activities against their wishes. This phenomenon strictly depended on a person’s unwillingness instead of the activity’s inherent benefits.
“Anytime you enjoy a challenge = no aMCC activation.
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The aMCC gets activated and actually gets easier to activate with time when you lean into challenges that psychologically want you to resist.”
For someone as determined as Goggins, this was a revelation in terms of how his willpower worked. He not only defied the odds to lose weight and eventually become an athlete but also continued to persevere through physical challenges.
Dr. Andrew Huberman highlighted David Goggins’ story as a classic case study of resilience
Not many can battle life and its hurdles the way Goggins did, leaving behind his Navy SEAL life and starting a new chapter. The only way he pulled through was his impressive grit and determination to achieve a goal that he had set his eyes on.
Be it losing hundreds of pounds within months or constantly keeping up with his athletic life, Goggins’ example is a testimony to how one’s brain structure could undergo crucial changes with willpower alone.
Dr. Huberman had recently revealed an incident in a Q&A session, where he recalled how the athlete ran about 14 miles to the airport with his luggage out of sheer determination alone. While he might be “nuts”, the neuroscientist loved the way his brain worked with challenges.
