I guess you have a goal; something you want to be, have or do. We all have that something that we would like to be, to have or to do but most of the time those goals seem too big; thoughts like “there is no way I can get this...”, “I wish I could...”, "I am not good enough" or “if only I could...” seem to occupy our minds and govern the way we behave and consequently limit our potential. So we make ourselves “happy” and accept that those goals are simply too big.

We only dream of achieving them.  Often we tend to believe we cannot actually get those things we really want and therefore we don’t take any action. We just sit there dreaming and blaming life while commiserating ourselves. We tell ourselves things like: "The rich and successful are either lucky or one of a kind", "Those with fit and good looking bodies are the only ones with time to exercise" etc.

Well, now is time to think again. We can get anything we want if we just want it badly enough; although this may seem controversial at first, stick with me and it will all make sense to you sooner than you think, okay?

Some people call it the Law of Attraction, some people call it positive thinking and many others came up with many different names for it. I like the concept of the Law of Attraction but we will call it Positive Thinking here so that nobody will be chasing us with law suits for stealing the name.

There are many books talking about the Law of Attraction in detail, however in essence it states that if we desire something strongly and follow specific techniques, we can influence the universe to cause events that will make our goals almost magically manifest themselves; “CRAZY!!!” I hear you say. Well maybe, but I wonder what it would be like for you if this was not so crazy, I wonder what difference it would make to you, I wonder what it would mean to you if this was not so “CRAZY!!!” and was actually all true?

What would it mean to you? Take a moment to really think about this... What would it be like for you if this was really true?

The way I see and live Positive Thinking is, in very simple terms, creating a goal with a very structured and precise methodology and then follow a specific way of thinking which will enable you to have the ideal attitude, mindset, energy and take the appropriate inspired actions which will facilitate the achievement of that goal.  Here below you will see the Goal Setting structure and after that you will see how to use your thinking so to influence the Universe to cause these goals to “come” to us.

Goal Setting's Structure

Stated in the positive
A well formed goal must be stated in the positive. This means moving toward something, not away from something, have something you want as opposed to not having something you don’t want, to be the person that you want to be and not to not be the person you do not want to be. An example of a goal stated in the positive is “I am with Mr Right Now and I am happy” and not “I am not alone anymore...”

Measurable
When will you know you got it? If you state that you want more money, when will you know when you achieve “more”? Your goal must be measurable and to be measurable it must be a specific goal.

If it is money that you want then stating that you want more money would not be good enough as this way you may get more money but how much? £5 is more money but would you be satisfied with that?

If you want to lose weight then how much weight do you want to lose? Or how much do you want to weigh?

“I now have £124,000.00 in my bank account” is stated in positive and measurable as you will know that you have your goal when your bank account reads £124,000.00CR, "I am now on the scales which read XX stone and XX lbs" is stated in the positive and is measurable.

However this is still NOT enough. You need a date. You need to know when you want it by or else you may still get it but you may get it when you are 99 years of age and, in this case, I am sure you would agree that this may not be so useful , would you not?

Have you ever heard people saying things like: “I will do it next month”, “I will do it later”, “I will get it soon”. “It is now the 20th April 2010 and I now have £124,000.00 in my bank account” or "it is now the 20th April 2010 and standing on the scales I read XX stone and XX pounds" are examples of goals stated in the positive and measurable.

Realistic
This is an important point; the goal must be realistic and yet ambitious. For example if you stated that you want to go to the Moon by April 2010 and you don’t have any form of knowledge or experience in the subject you may achieve this goal however, the chances that you will actually do it are slim. This is because there are factors that not even the universe can control within that time length. You need the adequate level of fitness, training, knowledge, background etc. This is different if you are somehow already involved in the astronautic environment.

That said, you must think big! Have big ambitions. If you have no money at all now and your goal is that of having £1 million by April 2010, you could achieve it as there is no logical barrier which cannot be influenced by the right attitude, energy and efforts. For example, a few year ago, I wanted to raise £4,000.00 to buy a new car, I had some money but I was £4,000.00 short. I simply did not know how to get this money until a movie I was watching gave me an idea. I was an expert in sales psychology and, although at the time neither Italy nor the UK was geared to be interested in the subject, I have wrote a manual and sold it on-line to the US market. It took 8 months but I did raise £4,200.00 by selling the manual at £70.00.

If I told you that Luke moved to a new country where the language spoken was completely and utterly unknown to him and so was the culture and national law and that after only 3 years he had 3 successful businesses, a house located in the centre of town, mastered the language and began teaching his subject of interest to people native of that nation you would not probably believe it. Would you?

Or that for more than 5 years Mary was not able to lose weight and then, after taking responsibility and setting her goals began losing 3-6 pounds per week you would find it hard to believe, right?

Look at TV shows like The X Factor and American Idol. The contestant who wins becomes a star, rich and famous in only a few weeks. So think big but perhaps if you haven’t even seen a space shuttle before, leave the Moon alone.

Timely
See Measurable/have a date.

This is the basic structure of a goal which is used by most knowledgeable business people. However, in order to make it more favourable, it is important to apply the following steps:

Write your goals down, always!

Your goal must be self initiated and self maintained by you.
Be "selfish"! This goal must benefit you directly before it benefits any other individual. If your goal will benefit other people, that’s great, however you must create this goal for you, it must benefit you directly first.

What prevents you from achieving that goal now? 
If your goal is that of publishing a book, you may find that what prevents you may be not having any idea on what to write, not having written a single word of the book, not knowing any publisher, not having the money etc. This alone will give you many answers and directions. You may be very pleasantly surprised by what you may find. This will make you realise whether you need help or can do it alone.

If you want to lose weight, this may make you realise that you find it hard to cope with the cravings, emotional eating, portion sizes or whatever else. At this point you will have a clear idea of what your barrier is and can seek the most appropriate form of help.

What will happen if you achieve your goal?
What will change in your life, your circle of friends and family? Be specific as this process will help you realise whether you are happy with the changes that will occur and whether you really want those changes to happen.

What will not happen if you achieve it?
And the way I see this is that you should write both positive and negative things. For example, if your goal was to become a famous rock star, one of the answers to this question may be that you will have more money, you will not have to work in that shop anymore, you will not have to struggle to find the time to play, you will not have the privacy you now have anymore, you will not see your current friends and family as often anymore etc.

What will happen if you don’t achieve it?
In the rock star example above the answer could be that you will have gained an experience in trying to achieve it, you will have the knowledge of what is involved to become a famous rock star, you may have to find another job, you will have learned something new etc..

What will not happen if you don’t achieve it?
You will not have to move to the US, you will not have to hide from paparazzi, you will not be able to play the guitar all that much etc.
This is the basic structure of a goal; soon we will look at taking the necessary steps to achieve it.
Can you act as if you have it now?
Can you pretend that you have it now? Pretend that you have your goal now, take charge of your thoughts by knowing that you already have it; because you do really, it's on its way.

What actually happens when you think and behave as if you have that goal already is that you begin to use your mind in a way which will enable you to have the ideas, attitude, confidence and behaviour which will facilitate the process of achieving that goal.


Luca Senatore Master Hypnotist CPMH, CPNLP, CPTLT, NLPCH
Cambridge 01223 656 000 http://www.eastangliahypnotherapy.com

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