The Neuroscience of Goals with Srini Pillay
The Unmistakable Creative Podcast
Srinivas Rao
4.8 • 1K Ratings
🗓️ 25 January 2017
⏱️ 60 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In terms of goals, there’s simple cognition and there’s complex cognition. Simple cognition is “I need to go get some bread” or “I need to visit somebody who lives on particular street.” That’s pretty direct. It’s easier to get to that goal. You know where you’re going, you know how to get there and you use simple cognition to get there. But when you say “I want to make an extra 100,000 dollars” or “I want to fall in love” or “I want to enhance my state of happiness” or “I want to find the job that I truly love.” Those are more abstract goals and involve what we call complex cognition. And complex cognition involves more than just following some sort of formula. It really relies heavily on your own sense of ingenuity. – Srini Pillay
Sponsors
Hostgator hosts your website. As you have heard on the show, you can get a 30% discount on the hosting of your next creative or business project’s website hosting by clicking here.
Dr. Srini Pillay is Assistant Professor of Psychiatry (Part-Time) at Harvard Medical School. He is known for combining “head and heart” (figuratively and literally) in an approach to personal development and goal mastery that blends science, spirituality, and horns-grabbing joie de vivre to combat the stresses faced by ambitious and high-achieving people in academia, business, and life.
In terms of goals, there’s simple cognition and there’s complex cognition. Simple cognition is “I need to go get some bread” or “I need to visit somebody who lives on particular street.” That’s pretty direct. It’s easier to get to that goal. You know where you’re going, you know how to get there and you use simple cognition to get there. But when you say “I want to make an extra 100,000 dollars” or “I want to fall in love” or “I want to enhance my state of happiness” or “I want to find the job that I truly love.” Those are more abstract goals and involve what we call complex cognition. And complex cognition involves more than just following some sort of formula. It really relies heavily on your own sense of ingenuity. – Srini Pillay
Sponsors
Hostgator hosts your website. As you have heard on the show, you can get a 30% discount on the hosting of your next creative or business project’s website hosting by clicking here.
Dr. Srini Pillay is Assistant Professor of Psychiatry (Part-Time) at Harvard Medical School. He is known for combining “head and heart” (figuratively and literally) in an approach to personal development and goal mastery that blends science, spirituality, and horns-grabbing joie de vivre to combat the stresses faced by ambitious and high-achieving people in academia, business, and life.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Do you hear that? |
| 0:05.0 | It might sound like nothing to you, |
| 0:07.0 | but it's actually the sound of nuclear, wind and solar energy. |
| 0:11.0 | At EDF, we're busy generating more British zero carbon |
| 0:14.8 | electricity than anyone to help keep future energy costs down for everyone and |
| 0:19.1 | help cut UK carbon emissions to nothing. Sound good to you? Find out more about our |
| 0:24.8 | zero carbon generation at edf energy.com slash helping Britain. |
| 0:28.6 | May I have your attention please you can now book your train tickets on Uber and get |
| 0:38.1 | 10% back in credits to spend on your next Uber ride so you don't have to walk home in the rain again. |
| 0:45.0 | Trains, now on Uber. T's and C's apply. Check the Uber app. |
| 0:50.0 | At Speck Savers, if we said you can choose a free lens option with a pair of glasses from our 69 pound ranger above, how would that sound? |
| 0:57.0 | Well, like this, fairy vocals to help you see near. |
| 1:01.0 | And four, reactions which darken in sunlight. |
| 1:04.0 | Oh, nice. |
| 1:06.0 | Thin and light lenses. |
| 1:08.0 | Um... |
| 1:09.0 | Or ultra clear, super clean. |
| 1:11.0 | We don't have a sound for that. Let's just say they help your glasses |
| 1:14.1 | stay cleaner for longer. So you're better off with Spexavers. Authors can't be combined. Terms and conditions apply, |
| 1:19.0 | ask in store for details. |
| 1:20.1 | Calling eco-conscious leaders, give your people a benefit that will really electrify their life. |
| 1:26.0 | With octopus electric vehicles, your people get an EV through salary sacrifice and save up to 40% on the cost. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Srinivas Rao, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Srinivas Rao and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.