Visualize your obstacles ahead of time.

You need to consciously think about the obstacles that could potentially prevent you from achieving your desired outcome. This might seem counterintuitive at first, but it’s a strategy that works wonders.

The “specific outcome” you are aiming for must be specific enough and or reasonable – meaning don’t  aim for a goal too big and overwhelming for your current mindset.

So this doesn’t only motivate you to get the right things done, it also helps you break your bigger long-term goals into achievable shorter-term goals that you can wrap your mind around and get excited about it , right now.  So…

• When people visualize their obstacles and realize they have a good chance of overcoming them motivation increases.
• Those who visualize their obstacles and realize their goals are too lofty and not specific enough (“I want to make a billion dollars this week”) report less motivation.

The latter are deterred from dreaming the wrong dream (Goal) again and again, and so they tighten up their focus and don’t waste any more of their time.  Thus, outcomes for both groups that use mental contrasting are positive.

The bottom line is that to be successful, we have to envision what could go wrong, and what will inevitably go wrong, in advance, before we begin.  Far too many ambitious people fail for easily preventable reasons.  Far too many people don’t have a well-thought-out backup plan because they refuse to consider something might not go exactly as they dreamed it would.