If you think you can win,
you can win.
Faith is necessary to victory.

- William Hazlitt

hat are your goals? Do you review them regularly to see if you're making the right choices to realize your dreams? Do you modify your goals as necessary?

If you don't know the answers to these questions, it could mean that you don't have goals. You may feel that you've set objectives for your life, but have you ... really? Are the goals specific and measurable? Have you committed them to paper? Have you shared them with others? Do you have clearly defined steps of how to achieve them?

If not, why not? Are you afraid to aspire to more or to allow yourself to dream because you believe you will only be setting yourself up for disappointment? Do you aim low so you are never let down? Do you passively accept what is offered rather than determine for yourself what you want?

Subconscious sabotage

You might think those questions sound a bit foolish and respond by saying, "Of course not." However, you may practice this behavior subconsciously and not even be aware of defeatist attitudes lying under the surface.

For example, have you ever driven by a nice home and admired it but didn't let yourself envision what it might be like to live in that home or neighborhood? Have you seen a peer's sales figures and acknowledged the achievement, yet never thought that you could also realize such success?

These are both small yet substantial ways that we limit ourselves. We stifle the impulse to dream for fear that we are aiming too high, being unrealistic or only setting ourselves up for failure.

Fearful refrains

If you're still uncertain whether negative thoughts are lowering your aspirations, review the following sentences to see if they resemble your internal dialogue:

• Why should I go after that merchant's business? I know who their service provider is, and I can't compete with them.

• It's a long shot that I would be hired for that job or tapped for that promotion, so it's not worth the work of updating my résumé.

• I can't ask for a raise; what if they ask me why I deserve it? Or worse, what if they list reasons why I don't deserve it?

• I'll be happy with whatever opportunities come my way.

• I have to work weekends, that's just the way it is. There's nothing I can do about it.

These are statements made by someone who doesn't believe in himself or herself and has given up without even trying. Why would a person do this? There are a variety of reasons, but mostly it comes down to fear: fear of rejection, fear of failure, fear of embarrassment, fear ad nauseum.

Fears lead some people to sit back and claim helplessness. They put power in someone else's hands. They would rather give away control than make an effort and run the risk of failure.

People who practice this defeatist behavior may also believe they are protecting themselves. By refusing to set goals or aspire to greatness, they believe they are averting disappointment and frustration. However, they are actually creating a lifetime of dissatisfaction.

And, perhaps more importantly, they are setting up their lives and careers to react to situations, rather than be in charge of their future successes and failures.

A better way

Wouldn't you rather have many successes, peppered with a few failures, instead of a string of mediocre experiences? Wouldn't you prefer to have some control and power over your destiny, rather than just accept what life tosses your way?

Sure, it's scary and there will most definitely be failures, embarrassments and rejections. But there will also be successes, achieved goals and financial rewards.

So aim high. Believe in yourself. Set goals. Expect greatness. You deserve it, you should expect it and if you must, demand it!