Few days back, when I read this quote which is by the way written by a very successful US plastic surgeon, motivational author, and creator of the Psycho-Cybernetics self-help book, Maxwell Maltz, I thought it must be so easy for him to churn out such motivational lines. Obviously, for a guy who has tasted success in multiple roles as a plastic surgeon and then as an author with a bestseller self help book, quoting on success and the power of self-image must be easy. But, isn’t this quote profoundly inspiring? You bet it is.

Have you ever come across a situation when it becomes difficult to keep your bicycle steady due to some problems in the tire? You are trying hard to keep the bicycle steady, but it continues to veer to the left or right. The same thing happens when we try to attain a goal without aligning our self image to the goal. No matter how hard you push, you would not achieve the goal unless you readjust the tire.

This is what Psycho-Cybernetics, a classic self-help book, talks about. According to the author of the book, most of us fail to succeed in our goals due to the mental picture we have of ourselves.  Each of us has a mental image of ourselves that defines our perception of what we think we are. These perceptions are based on our belief that we have developed through our past experiences. May be in your childhood you developed a belief on others reaction to some particular situation. These beliefs of what sort of person we are stays with us forever and we don’t bother to question much on these.

Escaping your self-image is not possible. If you believe that you hate public speaking, you won’t be able to enjoy it and if you think exercising is beyond your capabilities, you will not be able to lose weight and keep yourself fit. Likewise, if you nurture a self-image of being a failure, you would unconsciously find an approach to turn an opportunity into a failure. To achieve your goals, there is no other way but to modify your self- image. According to Maltz,

• Self-image determines your personality and behavior
• It controls your action
• It defines the boundaries of what you can do and cannot do
• Modifying and expanding your self-image means expanding your limits of capability

Once you are able to get rid of your negative self-image, you will be able to hold up an image of the intended target. Your behavior and personality will automatically adjust in a course of time to attain the target.  It is obvious that change of our self-image cannot be done overnight, as stated earlier, experiences has the power to mould your self-image. That means if you consciously picture yourself as a success, your brain as well as nervous system will guide you to the process automatically for all events in the future.

Therefore, if you want to achieve success in your goals, visualize the right self-image.

Yet, according to the best research, less than 3 percent of Americans have written goals, and less than 1 percent review and rewrite their goals on a regular basis.

Why do so few people set goals? I think there are five basic reasons.

1. They are simply not serious.

Whenever I speak with a man or woman who has achieved something remarkable, I learn that the achievement occurred after that person decided to “get serious.” In other words, until you become completely determined about your goals, nothing really happens.

2. They don’t understand the importance of goals.

Young men and women who begin setting goals very early in life invariably come from families in which the importance of goals is emphasized.

3. They don’t know how to do it.

One of the greatest tragedies of our educational system is that you can receive 15 to 18 years of education and never once receive a single hour of instruction on how to set goals.

4. Fear of rejection.

The fear of rejection is caused by destructive criticism in early childhood and is manifested, in adulthood, in the fear of being criticized by others. Many people hold back on setting worthwhile goals because they have found that every time they do set a goal, somebody steps up and tells them that they can’t achieve it, or that they will lose their money or waste their time.

5. Fear of failure — and this may be the most important reason of all.

People don’t set goals because they are afraid they might fail. In fact, the fear of failure is probably the greatest single obstacle to success in adult life. It can hold you back more than any other psychological barrier.

If you can overcome all of these obstacles and set well-defined goals, it will enable you to channel your efforts and focus your energy toward something that’s important to you. Goal setting gives you a target to aim at and enables you to develop the self-discipline to continue working toward your target rather than becoming distracted and going off in other directions.

Let me share with you five keys that will help you do that. Each of these keys starts with one of the letters in the word “goals.” Whenever you find yourself getting off the track, simply repeat the word “goals,” and think about how each letter stands for a key that just might apply to your current situation.

The first letter is G, and it stands for “Get to it.”

Sometimes, the only difference between a successful person and a failure is that the successful person has the courage to get started, to do something, to begin moving toward the accomplishment of a specific goal.

The second letter, O, stands for “Opportunity.”

Successful people do not wait for opportunities to turn their goals into reality. They make their opportunities, because they are perfectly clear about the kind of life they wish to create. Once you have taken the time to decide exactly what you want, you will experience an endless flow of opportunities that will help move you in that direction.

The letter A stands for “Ability.”

Many people hesitate to set high, challenging goals because they lack the ability to turn those goals into reality. But remember that we all lacked knowledge and experience when we started out in our careers or fields of expertise. Since you gain the ability necessary for high achievement through knowledge and experience, if you increase the speed at which you acquire both of those, you increase the speed at which you move ahead.

The letter L stands for “Leadership.”

Leadership is simply the ability to get results. And you begin to get results when you accept full responsibility for yourself, for your job, and for the outputs required in your position. You demonstrate leadership when you refuse to make excuses or blame anyone or anything for the problems you are having. The acceptance of the responsibility of leadership enables you to move ahead and take action.

The final letter, S, stands for “Stay with it.”

This is the resolution to persist in the face of adversity until you succeed. Between you and every goal that you wish to achieve, there is a series of obstacles. The bigger the goal, the bigger the obstacles. Your decision to be, have, and do something out of the ordinary entails facing difficulties and challenges that are out of the ordinary as well. Sometimes, your greatest asset is simply your ability to stay with it longer than anyone else.

When you look around you, you will see that all achievement is the triumph of persistence. You will see men and women everywhere who are struggling with and overcoming adversity in order to accomplish something that is important to them. And so can you.

G-O-A-L-S. That’s what you have to remember. And “G” is the first thing: “Get to it!”

[Ed. Note: Want to know the REAL secret of success? You need a flight plan to succeed. But having a plan isn’t enough. Just like an airplane pilot, you must make course corrections along the way in order to arrive at your destination — your goals. With Brian Tracy’s Flight Plan, you can discover a how to achieve more, faster than you ever dreamed possible. You also receive 2 BONUS CDS.

You can also check out Early to Rise’s own Epiphany Alliance goal setting program. Success mentor Bob Cox has helped thousands of people achieve their most treasured life goals.

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This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, a free newsletter dedicated to creating wealth and success through inspiration and practical, proven advice. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.By Brian Tracy.