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The Surprising Brain Hack That Builds Willpower and Increases Lifespan
- Karen Allen
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
I’ll let you in on a little secret: I hate working out.
Honestly, that comes as a shock to most people. I’m tall, and I look like I’m in good shape, so people assume I love to hit the gym hard. But for a whole lot of reasons, I can’t even pretend I like to work out.
Here’s the thing, though, I do love to be active. Being active is easy for me. I play pickleball, volleyball, and basketball. I love to go for walks. I really dig fun, enjoyable physical movement, and because I know all of those things are great for my body long-term, I’ve learned to accept that being in the gym is not the only way for me to be physically healthy and care for my body.
But recently I was listening to Andrew Huberman’s Huberman Lab episode with David Goggins, who is a retired Navy SEAL, an ultra-endurance athlete, and an inspiring public speaker. Five minutes into their conversation, I realized something pretty transformative. I need to start forcing myself to work out, not for my body but for my brain.
The Key to Willpower: Strengthening the Anterior Mid-Singulate Cortex (aMCC)
You know that I love me some brain science, and Huberman introduced me to a part of the brain I’d never heard of before: the anterior mid-singulate cortex (aMCC). The aMCC is a region of the brain critical for willpower and self-control, and research shows the aMCC has the potential to grow throughout your life.
But what's even more interesting is that this part of your brain is also tied to longevity. Huberman explained that when we study the brains of people who live a very long time, the aMCC maintains its size as they age. Huberman says it may actually be "the seat of the will to live," which means that developing this part of your brain may actually help you live longer.
Okay, so how do we strengthen our aMCC? Huberman highlights two key practices:
Overcoming challenges: Stepping outside our comfort zones and pushing ourselves to learn new skills or conquer obstacles.
Doing things we do not want to do: Deliberately choosing activities we find unpleasant to strengthen the aMCC.
The key, however, lies in consistency. To maintain aMCC size and unlock its potential benefits, we need to consistently push ourselves to do things we don't want to do.
Goggins said that even though he’d never heard of the aMCC before, he could see that it was at play in his own personal growth journey. SEAL training deliberately builds willpower through consistent effort, overcoming challenges, and giving recruits no choice but to keep returning to things that they do not want to have to do. That carried over into his athletic career, where he found empowerment in knowing that, in spite of the fact that every day would bring challenges he didn’t want to face, he got up and did it anyway.
Everyone Has the Potential: Training Your aMCC
Here's another intriguing point from Huberman: everyone actually has two aMCCs, and everyone has the potential to train them. But growth doesn't come from simply putting in effort on tasks you already enjoy.
Playing pickleball until I’m totally exhausted is great for my body and mind, but it doesn’t affect my aMCC at all, because even though it’s challenging, I’m having fun. Building your aMCC is about deliberately choosing activities you find genuinely unpleasant. Discomfort is the key to unlocking the aMCC's potential for growth.
Conquering discomfort allows you to truly understand yourself, leading to a sense of fulfillment and unveiling hidden potential. By pushing through challenges, you unlock your capacity for willpower and discover what you're truly capable of achieving.
From Theory to Practice: Putting It All Together
After I listened to Huberman and Goggins talk about the aMCC, I realized I had to lean into that discomfort and do things I do not want to do, not necessarily for my body but for my brain. So if I don't want to get in the gym to lift or go for a run, that's exactly what I need to be doing.
To truly develop my brain and potentially increase longevity, I needed to incorporate activities I truly dislike, not just for my body but for my mind. So I’ve started pushing myself to get more traditional work outs in, exactly because I do not want to do it. It’s not fun. I grumble through every second of it. But I am motivated because that discomfort is exactly what I need to grow.
This might seem insignificant, but it's about embracing discomfort for long-term brain health. It's about deliberately targeting the aMCC for growth.
Here's my challenge to you:
Think about something you know you should do but consistently avoid because you dislike it. Perhaps it's a neglected aspect of your work, a difficult conversation you need to have, or a personal development practice you haven't embraced. Would it motivate you to know that by doing this thing, you might be strengthening your brain in a way that contributes to a longer, healthier life?
Remember, the journey starts with a single, deliberate step outside your comfort zone.
Choose something you dislike, and do it anyway. Even a small effort can make a significant difference in the long run. The power lies within all of us, waiting to be unlocked through the power of discomfort and deliberate action.
Tools for Brain Training
If you’re looking for some new tools to help you get started on your brain-training journey, I’m here to help! Here are a few to get you started:
Pick up a copy of my book, Stop & Shift: The Mindset Reset that Changes Everything (or check out the audiobook version, if that’s more your style).
Go deeper into Stop & Shift (or let me walk you through it for the first time!) with my new Stop & Shift online course
Start learning today with my Leading with a Growth Mindset course on LinkedIn Learning.
Sign up for my newsletter, where I deliver tools, ideas, and mindshifts to your inbox every week.
How will you challenge yourself and grow, starting today? Put a plan in place that will allow you to make those changes, one small shift at a time!
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