Goals & Dreams - Knowing the Difference Could Change Your Life

Chuck Gallozzi has written an illuminating article on the difference between goals and dreams. Click here to read the full article.

For your refreshing, the following is an extract from his article:

"The beliefs held by our subconscious were formed by childhood experiences and remain in place until they are replaced by experiences that lead to new beliefs. For example, if a child was constantly belittled, mocked, and scorned, its subconscious would believe that it was unworthy. If later in life many people were to encourage, inspire, and praise the child, the new experiences could overwrite the previously held beliefs. 

The key to solving our problem of unwanted subconscious beliefs lies in that our subconscious cannot distinguish the difference between real or imaginary experiences. Let’s look at an example to see how we can apply this principle. 

Tom is a high school student afraid to speak in public. Embedded in his subconscious is a negative belief that is responsible for his lack of confidence. He doesn’t have to uncover or understand the original childhood experiences that cause his problem. All he has to do is set aside ten minutes a day to imagine being a successful public speaker. By repeating this daily, his subconscious will interpret these imaginary experiences as real ones, and start to change its belief about being a poor speaker to that of being a great speaker. Once this new belief is in place, Tom will easily be able to speak in public. Perhaps haltingly at first because of lack of real experience, but he will be able to speak, and will grow more skillful with each attempt.

Our imagination is powerful, and always more powerful than rational thought or will power. It can become our greatest ally or worst enemy. Mary imagines that everyone in class will laugh at her when she speaks. No amount of logic will be able to dispel her fear. Notice the difference between Tom and Mary. Mary’s imagination is unplanned, undirected, and uncontrolled. It is in charge, ruling over Mary. But Tom’s imagination is now directed and controlled by him. He sets aside ten minutes a day to harness its power. 

Willfully directing our imagination is called visualization, imagery, or dream setting. We can also call it day dreaming. But there are two forms of daydreaming: conscious and unconscious. Unconscious daydreaming is unintentional; it is not planned; we unwittingly drift into it. This is the most common form of daydreaming. It is also dangerous because we may be daydreaming about negative experiences, such as people laughing at us. And our subconscious will interpret these imaginary experiences as real ones, reinforcing our negative beliefs, and keeping us in a rut. It is clear, then, that we need to be aware of our daydreams and use them constructively.

Since the success of goal-setting depends on our subconscious beliefs, we need to pay more attention to dream-setting (the practice of visualization to reinforce our goals, change our beliefs, and reach our dreams)." 

At Daily Refreshing Blog, I believe that:

Our life will not change unless we make a change.

Make a conscious choice on how to see yourself in a better and greater light on a daily basis, and look forward to your makeover to come, one day at a time. That 'someday' shall finally be seeing the light of day as you make the change. Read Chuck's aforesaid article for insights on the practice of Visualization. 

Here is a gentle reminder from Eleanor Roosevelt, "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams."