8 Tips & Tricks for Believing You Can Reach Your Goals
~ The Second Step of the Ten Step Series: How to Reach Your Goals in Ten (Not So Easy!) Steps
Most people give up on their goal within the first 30 days. And it’s not due to any physical obstacles that get in the way.
It is because we get in our own way.
Our minds can convince us of anything.
And they are very good at convincing us to keep on keeping on.
What we have always done is familiar, safe. The same old actions don’t require extra effort or energy.
So our minds want to keep us there.
It’s work to grow. It’s work to develop ourselves. It takes effort on our part.
And most people give up before the end of the first month because they believe that they cannot do it.
And because they believe they can’t do it, they don’t.
Don’t let that be you!
Believe in Yourself Starting Now!
8 Tips & Tricks for Believing You Can Reach Your Goals
1. Visualize your life when you’ve met your goal.
Allow yourself to daydream. Play it out in your mind like you are the main character of a good story or the star of the movie. What conflict did you overcome to get where you are today? What success is yours? How do you feel? What does your life look like now that you have reached your goal? How do people treat you? Why did it all matter in the first place? Visualize this often and it will start to feel real.
2. Act as if it already happened.
Fake it until you make it. Do you want to be ten pounds skinnier? Act throughout your day as if you are. Stand tall, straight, and confident, as you would if you had lost weight. Walk right past that cupcake – skinny people don’t eat that crap. You know?
Make the choices, habits, and routines now, today, that you would if you had already reached your goal.
3. Keep your eyes focused on the future.
Don’t worry about the here and now. Here is not where you are going. Here is what you are going through – to get to there. Now is tough. But now is just an obstacle to climb over, to get over there. Keep your eye on the prize, not on the present situation. The present situation is temporary. The future is rock solid.
4. Watch your self-talk.
You don’t become what you eat! You become what you think. Think positive thoughts. Your body hears what your mind is saying and reacts accordingly.
If you think negative thoughts, your body is zapped of its energy and enthusiasm. If you think positive thoughts, your body responds with vigor and passion. You are what you believe you are. You are a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Tell yourself positive affirmations and your body will believe you and will act accordingly.
This is such a tricky one. But it boils down to mind games. Our thoughts can go south before we even realize they were traveling. You need to have a plan for catching your negative self-talk, and then you need to have a plan for changing it. Monitor your thoughts for a couple of days. Pay attention to what you think, focusing on the negative ones. Is there a pattern to them? Write down a few positive thoughts that you can tell yourself, over and over again, when that negative thought creeps in.
For example, if you often think “I am fat”, catch yourself. When you have that thought, replace it with something positive, such as “I am strong and beautiful, and making choices today for a healthier tomorrow.”
5. Surround yourself with people who believe in your vision.
Find your tribe! Remove yourself from the company of those nay-sayers, at least while you are working towards your goal.
You don’t need to fill your head with any self-doubt.
You have enough well-intentioned people in your life to do that for you. Stay away from them.
Instead, find like-minded people who are not afraid of dreaming, not fearful of challenges, and who conquer goals. These are naturally positive people and can fill you up rather than tear you down. You will need their support. If you are lacking people in your physical life to fulfill this role, reach out on social media.
6. Adopt a Mantra.
Find a positive affirmation, quote, or saying that speaks right to your heart and adopt it as yours. Repeat it daily, over and over again. Before you know it, thinking it will be just like breathing. It will become a part of who you are and steer you toward your goal. (Mine for 2017 was “Be Bold!” And boy can I tell you stories of my boldness…..)
7. Use daily affirmations.
Find some good ones that really speak to you. Pinterest and the internet (particularly self-help articles, such as this!) are full of them.
Write them down or print them out and post them around your house, desk, office, and car. Post some morning affirmations in the bathroom and by the coffee pot. Put some evening affirmations by your bed. Post some work-related affirmations at work and etc.
Read them over and over again, every time your eyes land on them, and any time you feel you need a good boost of self-confidence. Say them out loud.
Be sure these affirmations speak to your heart and steer you toward your goal. Don’t just fill your head with a lot of mindless jumble.
8. Change your mind.
And the rest will follow! You are who you believe you are. Your life is what you believe it to be. What you focus on is what you will produce. We are self-fulfilling prophecies. If you believe you will never amount to much, you won’t.
But if you believe you were meant for greatness, you will find it.
Now get out there and find it!
