Setting Goals

The easiest way to find out what you really want is to ask yourself. Specifically, ask your subconscious mind, the powerhouse of your intellect. This is where your deepest and best thinking is done.

To help you tap into the power of your subconscious mind, it is helpful to use a tool referred to as brainstorming. Follow these five steps:

1. Write the topic you want to brainstorm in the form of a question at the top of a clean sheet of paper.

   The human mind is the most powerful computer on earth, but unlike computers, you don’t have to learn a programming language to make it work; all you need to do is ask it a question.

2. Write whatever pops into your head.

   Ask yourself the questions you’ve written at the top of your page, then listen to all of your answers. Write every thought that floats into your mind when you ask your question no matter how silly or dumb it may sound.

3. Accept with gratitude whatever pops into your head.

   No matter how silly your thoughts may seem, no matter how impossible, remind yourself how fortunate you are to have so many interesting ideas.

   Think of each idea as a gift. We might not like every gift we receive, but we accept each one, we open each one, and we thank the giver. It’s the thought that counts. If you accept all your thoughts gratefully, your subconscious - like any other gift giver - will be that much more willing to keep them coming.

4. Keep your pen moving

   Tell yourself you’re going to write for a fixed amount of time - whether it be a minute, two minutes, or five - and then keep your pen moving until the time is up. Keep writing even if you have to write the same thing over and over again.

5. Save your criticism for later.

   Write, don’t judge. You can judge later. Brainstorming is a tool to generate ideas, not to evaluate them.

   Have you ever offered a suggestion in a meeting, only to have someone point out how stupid it was? After that, you probably decided to keep your thoughts to yourself.

   Your subconscious mind is just as sensitive. If you reject its suggestions, it stops making them.

There is no time like the present to begin your first official brainstorming session. So take out a blank sheet of paper and write this question at the top:

What would I really want from life if I were absolutely, positively certain I would get it?

Now write your answers. Don’t worry about how you’re going to accomplish the things on your list; we’ll deal with that later. For now, just focus on what you want, not on how you’ll get it.

Write whatever pops into your mind. Keep your pen moving for at least two minutes. You might find it helpful to think about specific areas of your life. For example, what do you want from your work? From your home life? From your relationships? What kind of health do you want? What kind of physique? What do you want from your hobbies? From your community activities? From your love life? What kind of impact would you like to have on the world? How would you like to be remembered?

If you run out of steam, write the same answers over and over, each time with a slightly different twist. Change a word, change a color or a size, change an adjective. Whatever you do, keep writing for at least two minutes - longer if the ideas keep flowing. So go ahead, and write!