The amygdala is involved in goal-directed behavior because many goals involve avoiding punishments.

“One of the brain areas is the so-called, amygdala. The amygdala is most often associated with fear, so you might say, wow, how is that involved in goal directed behavior? Well, a lot of our goal directed behavior, is to avoid punishments, including things like embarrassment or financial ruin or things of that sort. And so the amygdala and some sense of anxiety or fear, is actually built in to the circuits that generate goal seeking and our motivation to pursuit goals.”