How to Achieve Your Desires

The brain is constantly predicting what will occur next so it can act accordingly. This is to ensure safety (or the sense of it, at least) to itself as well as conserve energy on tasks deemed unnecessary.

One acts according to what one expects.[1] Though such prediction could be beneficial, it could also be just as unhelpful—if you want to build a tent but think it is going to collapse, you will not build it regardless of its chance of collapse. If what you want does not align with what you expect, the desire will not be achieved.

To get what you desire:

1. Know what you want from a situation.
2. Recognise your capabilities. How much can you get? Where are your limits?
3. Assess the chances. When can you achieve your desire? Can you influence the probabilities?
4. Check its importance. Is it worth striving for? How will you feel after acquiring it?
5. Adjust your expectations. If you believe in it, you can do it.
6. Take action. Go for it.

[1] de Lange, F. P., Rahnev, D. A., Donner, T.H., Lau, Hakwan (2013). Prestimulus Oscillatory Activity over Motor Cortex Reflects Perceptual Expectations. The Journal of Neuroscience, Vol. 33, Issue 4. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1094-12.2013

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