The Neuroscience of Perseverance: Intrinsic motivation, growth mindset, and the internal reward system

The ACC is a structure that lies over the corpus callosum, an area that connects the left and right hemispheres of the brain. This advantageous position allows the ACC to establish connections with both the limbic system (“the behavioral and emotional center”) and the prefrontal cortex (the “personality center”). The ACC interacts with other brain regions and brain structures involved in motivation and reward, such as the ventral striatum and anterior insular cortex. The ACC is known for its role in cognitive control, positive emotions, and pain [1, 2], as well as decision-making, impulse regulation, emotional processing, and reward anticipation. Dopamine neurons play a key role in reinforcing behaviors through reward processing, further linking the ACC to motivational neural circuits. The ACC also contributes to a person's sense of motivation and emotional awareness.

A portion of the ACC, known as the anterior midcingulate cortex (aMCC), is involved in emotional appraisal (how thoughts around a situation impact a person’s emotional state), conflict monitoring, approach-avoidance decisions, and willed control of actions [1]. The dorsal ACC, a subregion of the ACC, is particularly important for performance monitoring and error evaluation. In essence: When we’re doing something that’s hard but we know is good for us (such as lifting weights or learning a new language), the ACC is constantly scanning and monitoring the situation and deciding whether all the energy we’re using is really worth it or whether we should call it a day and do something else. This ongoing activity involves neural processes and performance monitoring, including the ACC's involvement in making mistakes and the neural correlates of error processing.

Who doesn’t love an underdog story? We love to see people who are able to overcome challenges and succeed against the odds in a display of human resilience. Our ACCs play a role in this, and research indicates that those with denser ACCs possess greater perseverance [3]. In fact, when faced with a difficult task, the activity in the aMCC is directly linked to the level of perceived effort reported by individuals [4].

Those with higher aMCC activity are more willing to invest effort when weighing the costs and benefits of different options [5]. Interestingly, when presented with a choice between an easy and a difficult task, the aMCC is activated when individuals opt for the more challenging option [6]. Not surprisingly, depression has been associated with aMCC dysfunction, specifically reduced gray matter density and decreased activation during challenging tasks [7, 8].

A captivating study demonstrated that electrical stimulation of the aMCC invokes in participants a strong determination to persevere. They likened this feeling to braving a storm, with an internal drive compelling them to “fight it” [9]. 

Athletes and “SuperAgers” share a unique advantage: they are renowned for possessing denser and healthier anterior cingulate cortices. Athletes, who regularly push their limits both physically and mentally, display an uncanny capacity for perseverance, which has been linked to robust ACC health [10].

On the other hand, “SuperAgers” are a select group of elderly individuals (age 80 and over) who defy the normal boundaries of cognitive aging [11]. Their mental agility and sharpness, akin to those in their youth, have been tied to the superior health of their ACC. This impressive brain region not only plays a critical role in tenacity and grit but also appears to be a potent ally in maintaining cognitive control, sharpness and resilience to delirium with age [12]. 

While there are ways to activate brain structures such as ACC so you can build more perseverance and determination over time, these tips may not be the most comfortable or the easiest; however, we’ve tried to find valuable science-backed strategies to set you up for success and kick start your internal reward system: 

Hate weight lifting? Incorporate more weightlifting into your routine. Rather take the elevator than the stairs? Opt for the stairs anyway. If warm showers are your comfort zone, challenge yourself to a cold one. Not sure if your task is challenging enough? Gauge it by how much you'd rather do something else, such as playing on your phone. If you have a strong desire for other activities or experience resistance when starting the task, it indicates that the task is likely challenging enough to activate your ACC. 

When given a choice, both humans and animals tend to avoid effort because, honestly, doing hard things is hard [13]. However, research shows that rewarding the effort rather than the outcome increases peoples’ preferences for seeking out challenging tasks in the future [14]. Just more proof that when reaching our goals, it’s just as important to reward and recognize the journey rather than the destination. 

Effort just for effort’s sake kind of goes against the “Effort Paradox” (aka humans like to avoid expending energy). People who possess a positive attitude in times of effort tend to have higher levels of both life and job satisfaction and better well-being [15]. These people also manage to experience more meaning in their efforts, even when tasks are boring. So while you might want to avoid going to the gym, if you know that the unpleasant task of working out will help you function independently in your 80s and beyond, the effort becomes far more valuable. 

Combining mental and physical stress might sound like some form of torture, but stay with us: Research indicates that after we complete a mentally demanding task, we actually perform better at physically demanding challenges [16]. In this study, the group that had trained for a mentally demanding task along with physical activity increased their time to exhaustion by 126%, or 3x more than the control group (+42%), once the mentally demanding task was removed.

While we don’t recommend doing this during an intense workout, if you’re doing a more moderate workout (80-85% of your maximum effort), this could be the ideal time to also train your brain. And if this sounds particularly horrible, that’s great—you’ll probably activate your ACC.