Being Delusional Can Actually Help You Achieve Your Goals—Here's What A Neuroscientist Says

Delusions are fixed, false beliefs that conflict with reality. Simply put, it is an inability to distinguish between what is real and what seems to be real. While delusions are symptoms of serious mental health conditions such as Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, they can also help you achieve your goals.

Emily McDonald, a neuroscientist and brain coach, recently shared a video on social media wherein she gave three science-backed reasons to be delusional.

Being Delusional Boosts Dopamine Production

Being delusion triggers the production and release of dopamine. If you are realistic or limit yourself disrupts your dopamine system, which leads to a lack of motivation and action towards your pursuing goals. However, believing in the possibility of your dreams causes your brain to anticipate rewards. This boosts dopamine and motivates you into action.

Delusion Normalizes Your Goals

Being delusional about your goals also normalizes them in your brain. Empirical evidence shows that the human brain is designed to survive and not thrive. Since ancient times, brains have been keeping us safe and comfortable. However, being delusional about dreams makes them familiar to your brain. This leads to a shift in the nervous system and therfore, your reliability.

Delusion Shapes Your Real-Life Algorithms

The third reason is that your reality is like social media where your beliefs determine the algorithm. Your reality is based on your mindset, conditioning and beliefs. Start believing in the impossible and your system changes.

Beyond delusion, another thing that can help you achieve your goals is manifestation.

But How Does Manifestation Work?

Manifestation is not just a social media trend, there is a solid science behind it. When you manifest something, it is actually your Reticular Activating System (RAS) that is put to work. Now, one of the RAS’s most powerful functions is selective attention. Imagine you’re striving to land a job as a journalist. As you start focusing on this goal, your RAS kicks into gear. Suddenly, job opportunities begin to pop up on your social media feeds, conversations about media vacancies seem to happen around you, and relevant information for job tests appears more frequently. This isn’t the universe magically aligning things for you, it’s your brain actively filtering and spotlighting the information that matters most.

A classic example of RAS in action is the “cocktail party effect”—hearing your name across a noisy room. Even amidst the clamour, your brain zeroes in on that familiar word. Similarly, when you concentrate on a specific goal, your RAS tunes in to anything related to it, amplifying your chances of success.