If Wishful Thinking Was All You Needed, I Would Have Won The Lotto By Now

Wishful thinking is a powerful force. It’s the stuff of dreams, the fuel for fantasies, and the catalyst for countless lottery tickets purchased each day. But here’s the reality check: if wishful thinking was all you needed, we’d all be millionaires, astronauts, or best-selling authors by now.

So, what’s the missing ingredient? Why do some people achieve their goals while others simply dream about them? The answer lies in meticulous planning, diligent focus, and sheer determination. Let’s delve deeper into this.

Where Do I Need to Start?

The first step towards achieving any goal, big or small, is defining it clearly. What exactly do you want to achieve? When do you want to achieve it? Be as specific as possible. Saying “I want to be rich” is too vague. Instead, say “I want to save $100,000 in the next five years.” This gives your goal a concrete shape and timeframe that you can work towards.

Once you have defined your goal, it’s time to assess your current situation. What resources do you have at your disposal? What obstacles might you face? This self-assessment will help you understand what you need to do to move from where you are now to where you want to be.

What Steps Do I Need to Take?

With your goal clearly defined and your current situation assessed, you can now start planning the steps you need to take. Break down your goal into manageable tasks and assign a timeline to each task. This is your action plan.

For instance, if you aim to save $100,000 in five years, you might save $20,000 each year. To achieve this, you could further break it down into saving approximately $1,666 each month.

Your action plan should also include strategies for overcoming potential obstacles. If you foresee that your current income might not allow you to save as much as you need, you could plan to take on a part-time job or look for investment opportunities.

Visualising Your Goal

Visualisation is a powerful tool many successful people use to achieve their goals. It involves creating a mental image of your desired outcome, allowing you to ‘see’ what it would look like once you’ve achieved it. This mental rehearsal primes your mind and body to act in ways that align with your visions.

Once you have a clearly defined goal, create a vivid mental picture of what achieving that goal looks like. Include as many details as possible. If your goal is to run a marathon, don’t just picture yourself crossing the finish line. Visualise the crowd cheering you on, the sweat on your brow, the feeling of your feet pounding the pavement.

Visualisation isn’t just about seeing; it’s about feeling

How would achieving your goal make you feel? Proud? Excited? Elated? Incorporating emotion into your visualisation makes it more powerful and motivates you to work towards your goal.

Like any skill, visualisation gets better with practice. Make it a part of your daily routine. Spend a few minutes each day visualising your goal and the steps you’re taking to achieve it.

Tools like vision boards, affirmations, and guided meditations can enhance your visualisation practice. A vision board, for example, is a collage of images and words that represent your goal. Seeing this board every day can reinforce your visualisation and keep your goal front and centre in your mind.

Act as if you have already achieved your goal. This doesn’t mean pretending or being delusional; it’s about aligning your actions with your vision. If your goal is to be a successful author, start behaving like one now: set a writing schedule, interact with other authors, and learn about the publishing process.

How Diligent and Focused Do I Need to Be?

Achieving a goal requires consistent effort and unwavering focus.

Diligence means sticking to your plan even when things get tough. It’s about showing up every day, doing the work, and staying committed to your goal. There will be days when you’ll want to give up but remember that every small step takes you closer to your goal.

Focus, on the other hand, is about keeping your eyes on the prize. It’s easy to get distracted by other things or to lose sight of your goal when progress is slow. But stay focused. Remind yourself of why you set this goal in the first place and visualise the satisfaction you’ll feel once you achieve it.

In Conclusion

Wishful thinking might get you a lottery ticket, but it won’t help you win the jackpot.