"All meaningful and lasting change starts first in your imagination and then works its way out. Imagination is more important than knowledge."
Albert Einstein
I've heard it said, in fact I used to say myself, "I don't have much imagination." The lack is not in imagination, it's the lack of recognizing it.
What did you have for dinner last night? As I ask that question, you are recalling not only what it was but, what it tasted like, smelled like, how good (or bad) it was and a whole lot of other memories.
Now, what will you have for dinner tonight? Now you're thinking (if you already know) what it will taste, smell like etc. You're imagining what it will be like.
What will you be doing a year from now? What will your life be like? Will it be drastically changed or pretty much the same as it is right now?
By imagining your future, you're starting to create it!
That's right, everything you ever do, become or experience starts in your imagination. For example, how did you learn to drive or do anything? You first developed the belief that you could do it then imagined yourself doing it.
As soon as you can imagine yourself doing something, you've set up an automatic mechanism in your subconscious to strive to do the thing. That's the secret to achieving your goals. If you set goals that seem to meet all the criterion of what all the "Success Gurus" say are necessary and still can't see (imagine) yourself doing/becoming what you've set about to do, you'll never make it!
That's the biggest reason most people who go on a diet have little or no lasting results. That's why anything you try to do can be hard or impossible. As Henry Ford (no relation) said: "Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right."
Almost all the material I've found about goal setting tells you to make your goals SMART. It's an acronym that someone once thought up which stands for: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Timed. A goal should be all of that but, more important - It must be a goal that you can see (imagine) yourself reaching!
I know I keep harping on beliefs, self-limiting beliefs etc. The reason I do is I have learned that without believing you can do something, you'll never get it done. It must be more than just believing it could be possible for you to do it. It must be a strong enough belief that you can imagine what it will be like and expect to reach it.
You have a dream that you want to turn into a goal? Write it out, like all the goal setting teachings tell you to. Break it down into long, medium and short term goals. Figure out the steps it will take to reach it. All good so far?
Now, can you see yourself having achieved it? If not, there's something wrong. It may be "attainable" but, if you can't imagine yourself doing it, who is it attainable for? Certainly not you!
Ask yourself why you can't see yourself reaching the goal. Listen to your thoughts. Write them down. Chances are, your self-beliefs (limiting) are holding you back. As the thoughts come to you, examine them. Are they real or something that was planted in your mind a long time ago by someone you accepted as an authority?
Unfortunately, almost all of us have these negative beliefs implanted during our childhood and beyond. The subconscious accepts them as true without question once they are implanted. They are what you use as a guidance system.
The only way to overcome subconscious beliefs is to replace them with new beliefs. Remember, you can't beat anything by fighting it (see "How do you Eliminate Darkness")It's imperative that you weed out any subconscious belief and see the fallacy of it. Once you can consciously see that it isn't serving you replace it with a new belief that will.
Once you have your goals worked out to the point that you believe you can achieve them and you believe to the point that you expect to, nothing will stop you. Then You will Imagine yourself successful!
Be Happy Now!