How to think your goals into reality
Have you ever reached a massive goal in your life without being aware of the process behind it? Is it interesting if we become more conscious of the fundamental principles and make it possible to repeat that process frequently?
I've had Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill on my bookshelf for nearly a decade. Over the years, I've heard so many people mention how good the book is, from people I know personally and from different seminars I've attended. In the past, I've started to read it multiple times but have yet to try to complete it. A few winters ago, I committed myself to reading the book completely.
We are living in a strange time in human history. Fear and uncertainty have influenced many of us over the last four years. Tony Robbins typically describes our current situation as a "winter season." I find that metaphor helpful, as spring always comes after a winter—no matter how long it is. No crisis lasts forever; humans tend to repeat history in cycles.
Undoubtedly, the current situation impacts our energy and vibrations, ultimately affecting our mindsets.
The ultimate question I've been asking myself is: How can we find an antidote to our minds? How can we reverse our mindsets to turn these strange times into something empowering, exciting, and optimistic?
Research.
Napoleon Hill writes, "We are who we are because of the vibrations of thought which we pick up and register through the stimuli of our daily environment." That's a powerful statement; this knowledge can open up unlimited opportunities.
Certain aspects of our external environment we can't change. Our external environment is things we can't directly control. However, we can focus on our internal environment (the things we can directly control). We can control how we respond to what's to us and how we choose to stimulate ourselves.
Our minds can't tell the difference between reality and imagination. The quote, "If you can see it in your mind, you can hold it in your hand," comes from that knowledge. ” We can leverage this knowledge to reprogram our minds.
Napoleon Hill continues: "RICHES begin in the form of THOUGHT! The amount is limited only by the person in whose mind the THOUGHT is put into motion. FAITH removes limitations".
Don't let the word RICHES limit our thinking, as it can redirect our thoughts to money. Each of us has our definition of RICH life, which is entirely for everyone. This, again, is based on the meaning and emotions we connect to the word rich.
Family and kids can be the meaning of a rich life. Contribution and helping others have a better life can be another definition of a rich life. Traveling and exploring the world can be someone else's top priority. The important thing is that a rich life makes us feel fulfilled.
It's also interesting how we can leverage FAITH to overcome our limitations. Why not approach the current times with a better outcome in mind? Let's help each other overcome the given circumstances instead of limiting ourselves.
The advantage of mastering visualization in challenging circumstances is that the skill becomes more straightforward to implement as our circumstances improve.
Ten ways to stimulate our minds.
When our minds are stimulated, we can "tap" into the higher vibrations of emotions. Examples include creative imagination, desire, enthusiasm, passion, etc.
Before figuring out how to adapt to the situation, let's add some depth and understanding of how our minds function. In the list below, there are eight constructive ways to achieve this and two destructive ways:
Constructive ways of stimulating our minds:
A desire for sexual expression.
Love
Everyone has a burning desire for fame, power, financial gain, or money.
Music
Friendships (Either of the same sex or the opposite sex)
A group of peers
Mutual suffering
Auto-suggestions (How our beliefs, thoughts, and what we say influence our behaviors and state of mind).
Destructive ways of stimulating our minds:
Fear
Drugs or alcohol
Finding empowering alternatives to stimulate ourselves.
Now is the time when our habits and human needs come into play. We might have to accept that we won't be able to stimulate our needs with the current restrictions and circumstances. Most of us will have to be creative in terms of giving our minds the stimulation they need.
How did we get those needs covered, and how can we be creative in finding empowering alternatives?
Thinking out loud, this could include:
- Become more aware of the people surrounding us and become more expressive towards our loved ones.
- Nurture ourselves (emotionally and spiritually).
- Connecting and spending more time off-screen with people.
- Becoming more conscious about the music and entertainment we choose.
- Focus on how to have fun and find new solutions that support us financially.
- Spend more time in touch with our souls (Meditation & mindfulness).
- Seek natural "arenas" over dating apps to create authentic connections.
The recipe: From creating an idea to transforming it into reality
1. It all starts with an idea.
Everything we can see around us was, at some point, an idea in someone's imagination. For example, without Thomas Edison's failure over and over again, there would be no light bulb. Most of us don't think of that when we turn on the lights in our homes. That illustrates how incredible the human mind can be at its best.
However, feel free to come up with something equivalent and revolutionary. No idea is too small or big as long as we imagine it ourselves.
2. Mix faith with the idea.
The second step is building faith to bring our idea to reality. This is one of the most essential steps in the process. Our references (previous experiences) can help us reinforce our faith and beliefs. Imagine references as the legs on a table. The stronger the legs on our table are, the more weight they can carry.
Don't limit yourself. Find someone who has already accomplished what you want to do. There are also many ways to study, such as books, YouTube videos, courses, etc. It's all about listening and learning along the way.
3. Map out a plan.
To transform our ideas into reality, we must map how to get from point A to point B. We don't need all the answers figured out when getting started, but the more detailed the plan, the better.
If the plan doesn't work, we can continually readjust our approach or move on to the next idea.
4. Start taking action on the idea.
At this stage, we can imagine our ideas clearly in our minds. As we have gained more knowledge about what we want to bring into reality, our faith has equivalently increased.
It's time to start taking action to bring the ideas into reality. I've found the following helpful question: What can I do today to move one step closer to what I desire?
5. Carrying out the plan with persistence is vital.
No matter how big or small an idea is, persistent action is required to make it a reality. Reflecting upon the achievements I appreciate most, I've consistently taken action when I've made them a reality.
We can all relate to multiple situations where we can be persistent and decisive when making something extraordinary happen.
6. Have a strong "why" (a strong desire) to follow through the process.
At some point in the process of creating an idea and bringing it into reality, we're going to meet resistance. This can often occur in the form of experiencing self-doubt or in the people around us expressing their negative opinions about what we want to accomplish.
Our "why" is the reason we have given ourselves to put the idea we imagine into reality. "the "stronger emotions we can connect to our "why," the better the chances are for following through. A strong "why" is equally essential to the degree of difficulty of what we imagine.
An effective way to deal with self-doubt is to increase our references to our ideas. This will help us grow confidence in our abilities to succeed.
If someone tells you you can't make it happen, this can often reflect their limitations and limiting beliefs. We need to trust our intuition and ignore the voices of others. This is why having a strong desire is crucial to succeeding.
The most powerful emotions drive us towards a goal.
Napoleon Hill continues, "The emotions of faith, love, and sex are the most powerful of all the major positive emotions. When the three are blended, they have the effect of "coloring" the vibrataren't thought in such a way it instantly reaches the subconscious mind, where it is changed into its spiritually equivalent."
That statement explains why it's so much easier to push through a challenge of something we are passionate about or for "someone we love.
An excellent way to leverage this knowledge is to think of how to link those three emotions to our ideas and the things we want to create. This gives us access to higher energy vibrations, which activate the law of attraction and work in our favor.
Why writing our goals down is essential.
We have often been told how important it is to write our goals down. Let's gain some knowledge gathered from a study carried out in the Harvard MBA Program related to goal setting-setting to illustrate this point even further:
When the Harvard graduate students were interviewed, it revealed:
3 % of the students had written goals and plans to accomplish them.
13 % of the students had goals but had not written them anywhere.
84 % of the students had no goals.
Ten years later, the same group of students was interviewed again, showing the following result:
The 13 % of students who had goals in mind but hadn't written them down earned twice as much as the 84 % of students who didn't have any goals.
The 3 % group of the students that had written goals earned, on average, ten times as much as the other 97% of the students combined.
Those numbers confirm the importance of writing down our goals and dreams before implementing them.
Create a written statement.
With the scientific knowledge about how important it is to write our goals down, they had no doubts about the benefits of doing so. A written statement should include the following:
Be very specific about your goal and what you desire.
Determine precisely what you plan on giving in return for transforming your goal into reality.
Establish a definite date for when to accomplish your goal.
Create a step-by-step plan on how you want to achieve your goal.
The next step is to write a clear statement that includes all four of the above steps. Print it and place it somewhere easily accessible.
Read the statement aloud twice daily (preferably before going to bed and once after getting out of bed in the morning). Napoleon Hill states, "Repetition of affirmation (the written statement) of orders to your subconscious mind is the only known method of voluntary development of the emotion of faith."
Imagine, feel, and believe you already have your goal to improve the chances of reaching the goal efficiently. This activates our Articular Activation System, which you can read about in my goal article. (LINK)
Be open-minded when it comes" to the final step, as it can feel uncomfortable before reading your statement out loud becomes a habit.
Learn more.
Do you find it hard to visualize a compelling future these days?
Do you want to learn more about using our minds and visualization to create a more compelling future?
Or do you feel like getting a recap on improving your visualization skills and achieving your goals more conveniently?
I recommend reading Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, based on my own experiences and how it has improved my life.
Sources:
https://www.elitedaily.com/money/writing-down-your-goals/1068863
Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill
