Fuel your desire by visualizing your results.
“The starting point of all achievement is desire. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desires bring weak results, just as a small amount of fire makes a small amount of heat.” — Napoleon Hill
If you can’t picture the results you want in vivid detail, then there’s a good chance that:
1. You don’t have a well enough defined goal or
2. You don’t truly believe it’s possible.
The answer to 1. is easy — keep refining your goal until you can vividly picture what you want. If you have to, break it down into smaller steps.
The answer to 2. may have to do with the fact that what you want isn’t congruent with something about you.
Contrary to the saying, “You can do anything you set your mind to” — NO YOU CAN’T.
Some people would call this “being realistic” — but I agree with Will Smith who says, “Being realistic is the most common path to mediocrity.”
I think lofty goals that some people might think you are crazy for believing you can achieve are worth aiming for — because I think people are capable of achieving far more than they believe.
But there are some limitations — mainly, you cannot control things that are beyond your control.
Yes, you can learn to play the piano — perhaps sensationally, but you can’t turn back time and learn the piano when you were three years old and take that experience with you through your life.
Yes, you can learn to sing better, but you cannot entirely change the essence of your voice to sound exactly like someone else.
Yes, you can improve your fitness and dramatically change your body composition, but you cannot change your bone structure or will your body to grow a foot taller.
However…
You can always maximize what you already have to improve your health, habits, and skills. You can always find ways to better yourself. And by doing so, you can get results that others might not even believe were possible. But to do this, you have to have a very clear idea of exactly what it is you want to accomplish.
And when you know what you want to accomplish, then vividly imagine the changes you would like to see and how you will feel when you’ve reached your goal.
And don’t just do this once, do it often! What you imagine should inspire you. Use that as fuel and motivation to propel you towards your goal.
Achieving personal goals series:
