Any person who has set their eyes on success and has achieved it, will tell you that the true key to greatness and fulfillment is having a clear, compelling vision. Sure, you need to set effective goals, but without a vision you’re as good as a captain on a ship without a map and an anchor – yes, that’s just how valuable your vision is!
“But I do want to succeed! I do put in the hard work! I just don’t understand how sometimes, no matter how much I try, it always feels like I’m constantly grappling with self-sabotage.”
That’s because it’s true. Most of the time, we are the biggest hurdle towards achieving our greatest of feats. Now, that’s not because you are lacking in talent or passion, but simply because your body is equipped with a system to stop you from taking risks in order to keep you, for the lack of a better term, alive.
But that doesn’t make any sense right? Why do we feel such a strong tug towards our calling if we’re being held back by our own brain? Why are we inclined to venture into the unknown if it’s risky? Let’s tap into the neuroscience behind this push and pull.
So, let’s start with the push – the Prefrontal Cortex. Your prefrontal cortex regulates and facilitates your core executive functions such as attention, impulse control, planning, self-awareness, and self-motivation. It is responsible for communicating, guiding, and synchronizing the other areas of the brain. It’s so powerful that it also controls three neurotransmitters (dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin) responsible for mood regulation.
Your prefrontal cortex is the conductor, analyst, and passion powerhouse; it’s the one that helps you anticipate and understand situations in order to grow beyond what life has to throw at you. It identifies your vision as a wondrous opportunity to build and develop your character even further.
Now, the pull is often caused by your Amygdala. It’s job is to keep you away from dangers – actual and perceived. It stores memories from events that have or might have caused you harm, it then sounds the alarm – activating your fight-or-flight response.
Your Amygdala is your body’s safety officer, taking notes of your triggers (e.g. fear, anger, and sadness) in order to help you avoid harboring any of these negative emotions. Your vision is something that hasn’t happened yet, so the amygdala does not have enough information to give it the go ahead, which is why it considers the vision a risk.
Now, you can either blame the science behind it OR you can use it to your advantage! Your brain is, after all, a muscle and just as any muscle in your body, you can strengthen and condition it to achieve the results you want. The fear center of your brain can give way to your vision headquarters, as long as it understands that the vision won’t needlessly endanger you.
So, really, they’re just doing their jobs! Your job is to help feed both centers with enough stimuli to make a joint decision.
When you have a clear and compelling vision it will start to lead you to ask better questions to fulfill your dream. After all, everything you can achieve or have already achieved was born as a single thought. So, to fortify your vision and make it a reality, you need to “will” or manifest it into existence. Picture your vision clearly in your mind and create a mental stronghold to house your vision.
Sandra’s 5 Core Desired Feelings:
Yes, the world is chaotic, but what if your vision played a role in helping the world to get back on its feet. What if, a year from now or several years from now, your vision inspires others to find their purpose. What if nothing was stopping you from achieving your dreams all along? Before the day ends, I urge you to take a moment and allow yourself to take a peek into your positive charged “what ifs” – meet the vision that was with you all along.
