MOTIVATION = STRONG DESIRE

Motivation is required to achieve anything. And motivation is simply strong desire, or wanting something badly enough to propel you toward your goal. How do you put motivation and desire together? To build a strong desire think of three or four things that you would enjoy AFTER you achieve your goal.

Now activate your goal by taking a first step in the direction of your goal. What? I know . . . that seems overly simplistic, but remember that long journeys begin with one step. That first step can be anything to begin moving you in the direction you want to go. It is a little bit like planting a seed.

Next take an action in the direction of your goal. A very effective first action step is visualizing the accomplishment of your goal. All personal development approaches teach meditation and visualization (creating an image in your mind) of the end result as a first action step toward reaching that intended goal.

Meditation is important because it helps you to focus your mind. Without it there is a great deal of minutia that distracts your mind. I like to call that mind chatter. Meditation helps you to eliminate all that. Meditation means your attention is concentrated on one thing or subject. As it relates to goal setting, meditation concentrates your attention on that one subject, and that energizes the mysterious creative energy that we all possess.

Through meditation we increase that creative energy many times over by helping us to reconnect with our Source. The message of our desire of a particular goal goes out to the entire universe, through that unseen energy which connects everything and everyone, and in some mysterious way sets into motion the necessary ingredients to bring about your desire. It literally reaches the people you may need to help you achieve your goal.

EXERCISE: Close your eyes and take a few deep slow breaths, exhaling very slowly. Then visualize the accomplishment of your goal. Make your visualizatiion as vivid and real as you possibly can. Some people have a difficult time with visualization. If that is true for you, then just picture the words of your goal in front of you, as though you are reading a sign, as on a mind screen.

Behavioral pshychologists tells us that when we remember things we have read, we are actually "seeing" the words in front of us. Or when we remember a favorite place, the mental process is a simple visualization. In reality convincing yourself that you cannot visualize wouild be like convincing yourself that you cannot walk.

Now put a realistic date on your goal. Think, "By such and such a date I have (insert whatever you wish to achieve)." See that date on your mind screen. The more emotion you put behind your visualization the more effective it will be.

VISUALIZATION - MEDITATION - QI GONG - YOGA

Visualization is a great natural self-healing tool. Together with daily meditation and a consistent Qi Gong practice were the cornerstones of my own recovery from Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis. I cannot tell you how many hundreds of hours I spent visualizing myself walking and running. VISUALIZATION WORKS!

You may read my story at my primary website, www.BettysHouseLifeAfterMS.com. While there sign up for my companion Journey to Wellness newsletter, now in its 14th year.

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Betty