Cover Photo by Scott Webb on Unsplash
Sometimes you really want something in life. You see yourself having it and it brings you joy:
Losing weight, gaining mass, stopping smoking, buying a new house or car, speaking a new language, etc.
The problem is, you never end up getting it and it ends up being another wasted dream. It happens to the best of us.
But I have good news for you!
You can turn that around. You can get the reward, provided you apply the necessary mind shift. The answer is in one of Steve Jobs famous quote:
“The journey is the reward” — Steve Jobs
It’s simple, instead of visualizing the reward, visualize the journey. Visualize the steps necessary to get to the reward.
For example, for this month, I have a crazy goal of gaining 5 kg of mass while losing about 3% body fat. That is the reward. I can visualize what my body would look like and the satisfaction that would bring, but that would never help me get to the goal. As an ectomorph, gaining such mass in such little time is an extremely hard task.
But I will make it!
I will make it happen because I spent time researching the best workouts for my body type. I researched the nutrition I need and prepared meal plans for the month. Down to the little details.
I will make it because I can now visualize my journey clearly: I see myself eating my protein bars in the morning, running to the gym, feeling the pain of lifting weights, filling my workout sheets to track results, measuring the gains, taking my protein shake after, etc.
The reward is already pleasing. You need to visualize yourself succeeding at the pain points, like lifting the weights. That way, you have a clear view of how to get to the reward and be motivated to do the painful work to get there.
If you’ve been good at visualizing the journey, feel free to visualize the reward as well, but it’s not what will make you achieve your goal.
And now it’s your turn!
Next time there’s something you really want, try this method out. Apply it to all your hard goals. Apply it to your New Year resolutions. It’s a simple but powerful mind shift that you can start applying now!
Thanks for reading! :)