|
In my earlier articles in this series I have talked about both negative and positive motivating factors. Now it is time to get the ‘rubber to meet the road’. We have to devise methods to make these goals part and parcel of our subconscious thinking. If you are a very rational person you may challenge this notion, but rest assured: you are wasting your precious time if you are trying to reach your goals purely by rational means. It rarely works. If you are totally honest with yourself, you will have to admit that very few New Year's resolutions last beyond February.
Let's do some quick revision. Our past conditioning (P) leads to certain ways of thinking (T), which lead to certain emotions (E), which, in turn, lead to specific actions (A), which ultimately lead to results (R). We could write this as P->T->E->A->R. Depending on our current programming, the results that we end up with may, or may not be, appropriate. In order to get the desired results, it is necessary to address the problem at its core and adjust our subconscious programming (P). Way back in the 70's, researchers found that the mind operates very much like a computerized control system. Read Dr Maxwell Maltz's Psycho-Cybernetics for some background in this regard.
It is quite difficult to change our subconscious programming. In addition to new programs, we might have to flush the nonsense shoved in there by society, religion, parents, teachers, peers and personal experience over several decades. Unfortunately there is no magic way, at least not to my knowledge. There are several possible approaches, ranging from reciting affirmations to hypnosis, but in the final analysis you will have to fine-tune your own approach. I discovered the following method quite by accident during my last school year, but, because I did not understand why and how it worked, it took me a good 40 years before I could formalize and apply it effectively. This is how you do it.
- Decide what it is you really want. Remember, 9/10 is not good enough. Just as an example I will pretend that you really, truly desire a little Audi TT coupe. I like analogies: imagine you are a 15 year-old ‘straight’ boy looking at the prettiest, sexiest little girl in class, the one you’d like to be your girlfriend. That’s a 10 (depending on gender and sexual orientation you may create your own analogy!). Incidentally, at age 59 I’ve progressed a little beyond the ‘girls’, but I happen to be a flying fanatic and if a Douglas Dakota (DC-3) pilot shoves those throttles forward and the two Pratt & Whitney radial engines roar into action, I still experience a 10. That’s why there’s a Dakota on my list of goals.
- Let us continue with our Audi example. If you have not actually experienced one before, do so. Be bold, take one for a test-drive! Or just go and sit in one. Even if you’re broke. And before you snigger in disbelief, this is EXACTLY what Sir Richard Branson did in order to find his personal private island, Necker. Go read ‘Screw It, Let’s Do It’ by the man himself.
- Don’t forget to get some good pictures of the car. If you cannot find a nice brochure, take your own pictures and scan them into JPG format. Or find something on the Web. Be very specific about minor details such as color.
- Locate a good upbeat song. Rock and Roll, or whatever gets your feet tapping. Download an MP3, or rip a track off one of your own CDs. As long as you don't post your movie on the Internet, it's fine. I am using 'I've got a feeling' by the Black-Eyed Peas for my latest one.
- While listening to the music, step through your presentation by using the keyboard or mouse. I happen to use Picasa to view pictures, but you can use anything.
- Once you are happy with the result, string your pictures together and overlay the music. Use ‘MemoriesOnWeb’ (freeware) if you have budget constraints. For a more professional result, use a proper movie maker program such as Corel Movie Maker, Sony Vegas or Pinnacle Studio. I initially tried to get Windows Movie Maker to run on XP, but eventually gave up and bought Pinnacle Studio.
- You can make one ‘movie’ per topic, or string several topics into one movie. You should consider making several versions with different songs, so you don't get tired of listening to the same tune over and over.
I tend to listen to mine in the evenings before I go to bed. Doing it just before bedtime could induce sleeplessness due to excitement! Goal setting should not be boring! I will make a detailed how-to video and post it on my technical blog, http://deonreynders.info. Oh, and by the way, all this goal-setting is useless if you do not start moving towards that goal. It does not matter what you do, just do something!
About The Author:
Deon H Reynders is the CEO of Visionary Marketers and lives, with his wife and an assortment of four-legged and feathered friends, near Toodyay in the Western Australian countryside. Deon is an accomplished marketer, electronics engineer, coach, trainer and published author. You can read more of his articles on motivation and other network marketing success factors here.
|
|
