Isn’t it amazing how an otherwise minor event in one’s life can lead to many learning experiences?

That’s been the case with Mission Sofa Shopping from my post ‘How to Influence People with Authentic Persuasion’ that led to reflections on staying motivated to complete the bigger goals that we set for ourselves.

I’d love to say there was a happy ending with the shop fulfilling its promise to deliver in 10 days of placing the order but it took us over 3 weeks to get the new sofa set.

Suddenly a simple purchase acquired the status of a goal to get the sofa set as soon as possible because I had a buyer for the old one (which happened very quickly, I must say).

I needed to make sure all the moving parts were in sync because 1 slip up would have upset the entire apple cart. A SMART Goal was established and I got to work.

Mission Sofa Shopping now transformed into Project Sofa Delivery got me thinking about Goal Achievement and the role of rest to maintain and motivation to achieve the goal.

Here’s what happened.

Last week Wednesday I cornered the shop where we had placed the order for the new sofa set and reminded them they were 2 weeks overdue. To my surprise, they said we could come to inspect it the next day and lo behold the set was ready.

They were ready to send it that evening itself but I had to first go to the bank and get the balance of money out because they wanted a cash payment and also arrange with the buyer of the old sofa set to take it before the new one came home.

All went according to plan – money withdrawn on Thursday afternoon and old sofa set given a wistful and sentimental adieu on Friday and then the wait for the new one to arrive at 6 pm.

Thank God my Mom decided to check with the sofa maker at 4 pm if they had loaded the new set only to be told they would send it the next day because they forgot the delivery was due that day!

To cut a long story short, my Mom talked to them the way only a Mom can talk and the time was rescheduled for 9 pm that evening because of traffic rules about trucks being off the road during rush hour.

Then the poor delivery man got lost! The furniture arrived by 9.30 pm and by 10 pm, we had a new sofa set and a very upset dog in the house.

Miss Coco is almost 11 years old and the activity of strange people coming into the house and removing sofa sets and then even stranger people coming late at night during her walk time to replace it with something new was not fun.

By Saturday morning, the only thing I wanted to do was drink coffee and generally rest.

I listed my weekend To Do List Tasks and plugged them into my Ken Blanchard’s Quadrant. That approach is similar to the Covey Quadrant which many people are more familiar with. Let’s say nothing there fell in the Covey style Urgent and Important or Not Urgent and Important slots.

I decided I needed a break.

I mean, if I made it a point not to work on weekends during my corporate world years unless there was a deadline that required all hands on deck, then why couldn’t I, the boss of Karmic Ally Coaching do the same?

After all, our employers did give us compensatory time off to rest and rejuvenate.

Especially since I had achieved a major goal? Did I dare to take the same advice that I give my stressed out clients?

Couldn’t I defer all the other goals I had? Especially if my life didn’t depend on them?

In fact, taking a short break between goal completions is important.

The Motivation Factor in the Realm of Goals

Keeping yourself motivated when you have a list of goals can certainly be a challenge. Imagine having a to-do list of pressures that you’ve put on yourself – that’s basically what a list of goals is.

If you’re not motivated to get them done, you can soon find yourself giving up and never making any goals again.

Focus on what is important to you, and let everything else go. Scan all areas of your life and clear out the internal and external clutter, and you’ll experience remarkable transformation.

Rest and rejuvenate. Do what matters and release the rest.

Simple as it might sound, these principles apply even when we’re dealing with long term big picture goals.

Here are 5 quick ways to make sure you stay on track and motivated to meet your goals.

Give yourself incentives

You should be thinking about this when you’re making the goals. How will you benefit once the goal is completed? Will you get more than just a sense of achievement?

Goals focused on qualifications and exams, for example, are beneficial to you since you will have a qualification for the rest of your life if you pass.

For goals which are less incentivized and require an extra push, promise yourself a new wardrobe or a new pair of shoes or even a premium perfume if you complete it within your desired time frame.

These rewards will also remind you of previous achievements when you start to feel stuck in new goal completions.

Bonus Tip: Learn to celebrate your small Successes.

Talk to others

Discuss your goals with other people if you feel comfortable doing so. Thousands of people make goals every year, so you’re bound to know somebody you could talk to about them.

It could give you inspiration, and you could get some useful tips off them on how they manage to complete their goals or how they maintain motivation.

If people in your circle haven’t faced your particular challenge, look around in your social media groups and raise a discussion.

You’d be surprised at the amount of knowledge and experience is available within the community.

I’ve seen discussions ranging from selling a house and purchasing a new one, cataract surgeries and lately even one on root canal treatments!

Don’t see your goals in isolation

Those who view their goals in isolation are often less likely to meet them. Rather than viewing your goal as just a number or another goal, think about other goals you have and ways it ties into them.

For example, you may have your sights set on a particular role at work or on a promotion that you will be eligible for in 2 years’ time.

Achieving the Key Performance Indices set by your boss in a systematic manner by remembering that each of the goals in your annual performance plan will help you meet your targets and even motivate you to raise your game and do more to demonstrate you have what it takes.

Adopt a favorite stress management technique to help you keep your mind calm and focused

My all-time favorite is Transcendental Meditation (TM) that I have been practicing since my internship days in London.

I found it helped me cope with the pressures of a full day’s work at my employers and still have the energy and required focus to study for my Chartered Accountant exams in the evening- my big picture goal at the time as I knew the qualification would open doors for my desired career.

TM is a simple technique practiced 20 minutes twice each day while sitting comfortably with the eyes closed.

Unlike other forms of meditation, this practice involves no concentration, no control of the mind, no contemplation, no monitoring of thoughts. It automatically allows the active thinking mind to settle down to a state of inner calm.

In addition to calming the mind and improving focus, a new study by investigators from The Center for Wellness and Achievement in Education (CWAE) discovered school district staff in California who practiced TM for four months had significant improvements in emotional intelligence and perceived stress.

Another good tool is Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) or Tapping. This technique involves tapping on meridian points while articulating the problem and then reframing it to shift the mindset to one of solution orientation.

And my favourite!

Give yourself a break

Life shouldn’t be all about targets and meeting your goals, whether they are personal or work-related. Take some time to give yourself a break every now and then.

When you go on vacation, for example, try not to think about your goals as much and use the time to reflect.

Many people take one day a week to relax from fitness goals, or an entire weekend to stop thinking about work.

After Project Sofa Delivery, I took the entire weekend off with no social media, no client work and nothing that required exertion in order to recoup my energy and start the next week on a fresh note and focus on other important goals that had been deferred.

Final thoughts on big picture goals

It’s easy to think of and set big picture goals and we might believe that Goal setting is an intuitive process that results in achievement.

But there are a few specific rules to goal setting that make the process much more efficient, and effective!

Set Yourself Up for Success from the Beginning

Huge, lofty goals are the best goals – and everyone should have big goals! The end goal, the big one, can be as big as you’d like, but make sure that’s not the only goal you set.

Smaller interim goals are necessary to ensure your road to success is a smooth one. It becomes too overwhelming to set one goal even if it is a great end goal.

For example in my book Money Success Secret: Alchemy of Mindset and Management, I approach Finance Goals and Money Management from the perspective of having big goals and byte size goals that lead up to our ultimate end goal.

Set Realistic Goals

Be realistic with your goals. For example, if purchasing a new car in the next year just isn’t going to happen, don’t set yourself a goal that big, or you’ll only be setting yourself up for failure from the very get-go. Instead, set more realistic goals that you actually have the chance to achieve.

There are usually many smaller goals that make up large goals, and there’s nothing wrong with setting a pace for yourself so that you stay on track. This is definitely preferable to getting overwhelmed and ending up endlessly negatively analyzing your every move.

If it is a transformation goal, be kind to yourself and accept it might take longer to manifest.

Setting realistic goals will make sure that you achieve them!

Visualize and Believe

The goals you set become so much more concrete in your mind when you can also visualize them and believe that you’ll reach them.

The first step in effective visualization is to pull all your senses into the process. If your goal is a new sedan, imagine how it feels to drive in that car, the amount of leg space, the new features compared to your current car. Visualize taking your family for a long drive in it and how happy everyone is.

Utilizing the senses in this way when you visualize will help secure this goal within your subconscious mind, and effectively make it easier to take the actions you need to take to work towards your goals. Your actions will follow your thoughts, so make visualization a part of your daily routine.

I’ve described the process in my post on creative visualization if you want to learn the exact method. It helped me manifest a new laptop in record time!

How will you stay motivated to achieve your long term goals?

Remember the times when you really need the Universe to step in and get you out of soup? You start chanting mantras and affirmations like they are going out of style– literally?

But Law of Attraction and Creative Visualization doesn’t work that way, you know.

You need to take the right action along with any mantra or affirmation that you might be using.

There’s a lot more going on in the background and you have to get it right.

One of the best ways to describe this process of tapping into the Universe for Divine Support is by sharing a true story and how each step in the process is vital for success.

How I banished Technology Gremlins with a spot of Creative Visualization

A fortnight ago, what should have been a simple Windows 10 security upgrade turned my world upside down. It brought a lot of work I was doing for a full week to a halt. I had to sort out the mess.

The upgrade started on its own on Sunday morning. By the time it was done, so was my internet connection – I couldn’t access the internet.

The internet service provider couldn’t do much about it and my IT guy happened to be on a long weekend vacation with his family. I had to wait for his return.

In the meantime, I discovered to my horror that my service provider didn’t support Windows 10. Apparently, I got lucky last year that my connection had been working!

The situation is best described by this quote from Joseph Campbell.

Then when my IT guy returned, he found out from Microsoft that their upgrade isn’t supported on my 3 year old Lenovo ThinkPad Edge but sold him a patch to resolve the issue. The patch worked until the next security upgrade 4 hours later and then I was back to square one.

To cut a long story short, I’ve signed up now with a new internet service provider at a much better deal. I had to junk my beloved Lenovo and invest in a new HP Notepad. I’m back online with a lovely new laptop having spent hours setting it up for my specific needs.

So where does Creative Visualization come into the picture?

Well, by Tuesday night I began visualizing I had a working laptop as if visualization was going out of fashion.

That manifested on Wednesday when my IT guy looked at an older laptop that I wanted to reformat and junk. Unexpectedly he asked for permission to have a shot at reviving it with Windows 7 while we worked out the Windows 10 issue.

His confidence could be gauged by the fact that he gave me a cost estimate and guaranteed that if I wasn’t happy, he would not charge me for it. I agreed and the next day, I had a backup laptop with internet access.

The Lenovo issue hadn’t been resolved so I did more Creative Visualization but this time, I added a phrase about the Lenovo or something better manifesting and a stress management technique to keep me calm.

By Thursday evening, Microsoft informed my IT guy that there were more updates coming and I would need to buy patches each time. They couldn’t guarantee the patches would work after each upgrade.

I decided to purchase a new laptop and I actually got something better. For starters, the exchange value was good and I have lifetime access to Windows 10 with a free upgrade for the next version. The speed processor is faster and I’ve got tons of preinstalled software that are normally paid add-ons.

The exchange value of my trusted Lenovo covered the cost of the backup laptop.

There were 2 more updates within 48 hours of my purchase and I shudder to think how many patches I would have purchased not to mention the new upgrade that is about to take place.

The Windows 10 update has cost me lots of money but when I sit down and calculate the value of benefits, I’ve manifested something much better.

Here’s how I did it. And so can you.

Creative Visualization in times of Crisis Management

Step 1: Center yourself and calm the mind

This was hard because normally meditation works but not this time!

In fact, depending upon the situation and your starting point, centering techniques that work in 1 situation may not be suitable in another situation.

The alternative I came up with was to first ground myself by strengthening my Root Chakra for a few minutes using my feet. The technique is described in my post on using our feet for executive presence.

Then when I felt stronger, I did a few minutes of Pranayam using the alternative nostril breathing method. That certainly helped to balance both sides of my brain and I was able to relax enough to begin the second step.

Karmically side note: Studies have shown that Pranayam benefits the brain and you might like to read this article by Dr Anil K Rajvanshi in The Speaking Tree.

Science of  Pranayam and Homeopathy by Dr Anil K Rajvanshi

Step 2: Focus on your goal or desire and visualize it

In this step, use the power of your imagination to create a picture of what you want as clearly and precisely as possible. Imagine that you already have your goal adding details that are important to you.

Visualization is the skill or ability to imagine things. The good news is that because it is a skill, it can be learned and perfected with practice.

Adeptness in its usage is important if you are planning to practice Creative Visualization, Law of Attraction or learn self-Hypnosis

This skill involves creativity and imagination. We have a lot of the latter as children but somehow use it for negative thinking or the worst case scenarios as adults.

Here’s a simple technique for practice using a chocolate cupcake.

In my case, I kept visualizing that I had a working laptop and that happened although it was a different laptop that started working. So I had to do more work with my visualization.  That happened in the third step.

Step 3 Declare your desire to the Universe

Once you have your objective visual in front of you, it’s time to use positive affirmative statements about it. This can be done silently or aloud – your choice.

The affirmations should be strong, positive and stated in the present tense, as if it has already happened.

If you feel resistance or the logical mind takes over, consider reframing the affirmation to start with “I am in the process of creating (the result you want)”.

This exercise should be repeated often or whenever you think about it.

Step 4 Make room for the Universe to deliver a better solution

This is the step that works magic and which I missed at the beginning because I was completely focused on the Lenovo working again and faced with an issue that didn’t appear to have a solution that my logical mind wanted.

It requires letting go of the outcome and trusting that things are going to work out. As Doreen Virtue mentions in Angels of Abundance, stop wondering about the How part and focus on what you desire.

The statement I love best is from Shakti Gawain because it creates space for something different or even better that is good not only for us but for everyone involved.

This or something better now manifests for me in totally satisfying and harmonious ways, for the highest good of all concerned

I realized that my attachment to the Lenovo was creating a barrier to solving my problem. It was a birthday gift I had given to myself a few years earlier and loved the laptop.

I knew I had to let go in order to open up space for the Universe to really help me instead of manifesting patches for each update.

That’s when the magic happened.

It’s also during this step that we take action to help ourselves manifest the solution. Sometimes the options will be in front of us and sometimes we need to listen to our intuition and be guided by it.

Whichever way we receive ideas, take action and keep moving forward.

In my case, I realized that I had to accept the possibility of letting go of the Lenovo and exploring a new laptop.

As soon as I was ready, the Universe sent the right solution.

Interestingly, my IT guy decided to do some research on his own and found me the right new laptop that had all the features I needed with a retailer discount and an exchange value that paid for the backup laptop.

As far as the money part went, I remembered I had received a money gift for my birthday that I hadn’t touched because I was not sure what I wanted and that paid for the new laptop. It doesn’t get better!

Step 5 Acknowledge that the goal has been achieved and give gratitude

Quite often we forget this step but it is important to acknowledge that our desire has manifested or our goal has been achieved. Acknowledging the manifestation and being grateful raises our morale and energy and opens the door to even better things to come.

Even though my story has a happy ending after a harrowing 7 days, the real point when it comes to crisis management is to stay calm and focused while taking systematic action towards a resolution.

It also means trusting that a positive outcome is possible and if required, reach out to your Higher Self or the Universe for the much needed support while you take action on the earthly plane.

That’s what spiritually-minded professionals do – action and faith.

What about you? How do you get the momentum going in a crisis?

Resources mentioned in post:

These 2 books are a must buy if you want to combine practicality with metaphysics for problem solving without losing your cool.

Also check out a cool resource that I’ve created to help boost your manifestation skills.

Angels of Abundance by Doreen Virtue

Creative Visualization by Shakti Gawain

You would definitely have heard of the Law of Attraction concept of tithing money for activating the flow of abundance in your life.

What about the concept of spending more to attract abundance?

That’s what I learned without even trying!

When I first moved away from home for my Accountancy Articleship, my parents gave me 1 solid tip.

It was to never scrooge about accommodation & food cost. Even if it cost a little more than my budget because I would be obtaining something that would make me happy.

This tip was followed by the assurance that ‘the money to cover the deficit would come from somewhere’.

I thought this meant they would be my safety net but surprisingly, the money did come from somewhere – always unexpected like a sudden bonus, tax refund or bank interest.

The amount covered my deficit and I didn’t have to turn to the safety net!

Neither my parents nor I had heard of the Law of Attraction. For them, their daughter needed to feel secure and happy in her own home and eat a proper diet.

3 decades later, I realize their tip helped to raise my money set point. Without realizing it, I allowed abundance into my life.

Want to allow Abundance into your Life by spending Money?

Both Creative Visualization and the Law of Attraction, have the concept of putting yourself in the ‘flow of abundance’ to obtain what you desire.

What this means is that when you give away what you have without fear, the Universe gets triggered to replenish your supply of that item with even more.

In essence you raise your energetic set points about that item to allow the Universe to provide you with more.

Changing your mindset programming from one of scarcity to abundance, allows more abundance into your life. This could be anything-money, friends, career opportunities and even love.

Here’s how it worked for me.

Assured that I had a safety net meant that I could look at things differently.

I wanted a kettle within my budget. Then I saw another slightly more expensive one with better features and after sale service.

I stretched my budget and brought home a kettle which incidentally is still working 3 decades later.

Where did the money come from?

My salary slip was adjusted for extra taxes paid the previous month.

My commuting time was a killer AND I had to study after work for my examinations. I stretched my budget and found a furnished place with excellent metro connections for an extra Ten Pounds a week (a fortune at that time).

The money appeared.

I had passed my first professional exams which meant a promotion with pay increment that covered the extra cost plus a little more even after taxes!

My money set point had risen to a higher level and the Universe responded by providing me the best for that new money set point sending me sources of money to cover the expenditure.

I was accepting money for what it really was – a currency to help me get what I really needed. I tapped into the energy of money.

Looking back, the price differential between my budget and what I acquired was not that much. I could have afforded it even if I did not have the ‘safety net’.

Sadly, when we come from a place of scarcity and fear, even a small amount becomes a big deal.

Even now, I give myself an error margin of 5-10% and being practical, do my research properly into all aspects.

The process to raise your setpoint and vibration is quite simple.

Understand your money set points as they are presently for different items that you purchase regularly.

Then see if you can raise your set point for some of those items where you wish you could spend more, say fruit.

Do you buy the cheaper fruits and cringe at the sight of more exotic fruits even though you love them?

Change your attitude and money set point for a few days and buy the exotic fruit.

How do you feel?

I think you’ll notice that somehow the extra bucks are accommodated in your budget. Or new money appears where you did not expect it.

Essentially what you are doing is raising your energy level.

You are sending a message to the Universe that you are ready to raise your money set points and allow abundance into your life.

The other ingredients in this recipe for success is to truly desire the object of your attention. Believe the money will appear and stay focused on your prosperity mindset.

Since then, I’ve discovered more ways to unleash the energy of money which I’m sharing in my short but powerful Kindle book Money Success Secret. Click the preceding link or image below to learn more.

Back to my first foray into tapping into the flow of abundance, I assure you the proof of the pudding lies in the eating or practicing in this case.

How about raising your money set point then letting me know how it went?

Want to really make friends with Money? You need to read Money Success Secret: Alchemy of Mindset and Management. It’s a combination of mindset, management and metaphysics!

This post was originally published in January 2014 and has been updated for new resources.

Written By: Vatsala Shukla

Photo Credit: Information Point by Petr Kratochvil

Recently, a client of mine asked me why her affirmations were not working during creative visualization.  She had been doing all the steps diligently and yet was not getting the right results.

My immediate response was to ask if she really believed in what she was affirming and we decided to check using the Muscle Test.

The answer became clear.

Her consciously believing in her affirmations was not being reflected in her sub-conscious thoughts; in other words – in-congruence.

We are now working on re-aligning the conscious and sub-conscious mind. If you are working on creatively visualizing your desires and not getting full results, you might want to try muscle testing for congruence.

Muscle Testing for limiting beliefs

I’ve recorded a short video of the process. If you prefer to read, the instructions are given below.

Muscle Testing can be used in many ways and for many purposes, but the focus today is on your beliefs.

If you hold a belief subconsciously then your muscular response will prove it. So let’s start.

Take 3 deep breaths and then join the thumb and index finger of your left hand together tightly, as if you are trying to pinch. Do the same for your right hand.

Now take the right hand and put these 2 joined fingers through the hole created by the left-hand fingers. We are now in position to test your beliefs.

Suppose you are asserting that you are overweight.

State in a loud and firm voice – I AM overweight.

Now try to open the circle created by your left hand fingers by opening the right hand fingers.

If this belief is true, you will not be able to open the circle. If it is false; that is your subconscious mind does not believe it, you will be able to open the circle easily.

The muscle test is also a great way to connect with your intuition. Find out what you should do or if you need to take heed of your gut feeling.

Re-framing limiting beliefs requires congruence between the conscious and sub-conscious mind.

If you are working on your beliefs, this test is an easy way to check if your efforts are working or if further tweaking is required to produce the desired results.

Try the muscle test and let me know if it worked for you.

There is another way to connect with your intuition and that is using the Pendulum.

Maybe that will work better for you? I recommend checking out Andrea Hess’s book Unlock Your Intuition. I’ve used it in the past to zero in on my personal development activities and it is a must read.

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