Choosing goals, and focusing our intention over time on achieving them, pays dividends.
But fuelled by 'I should', 'I ought to' and 'I must', they soon fall by the wayside.
So how can we wholeheartedly follow through on the goals we set? Stick with improved lifestyle changes? Work consistently to fulfill our New Year's resolutions right through until next December?
Motivation lapses for many reasons. One pitfall is when goals are a mental resolution, based on rationally knowing what's best for us, but ignoring or trying to override our emotional or subconscious motivations.
The key to success is to use our whole brain - the left 'logical' hemisphere of rational thought and the right 'intuitive' hemisphere which includes the emotions.
Here is a 5 Step method to uncover any conflicting fears or feelings and 'take the handbrake off' in areas where we've felt held back.
I've applied this process for 25 years. For more explanation and full details read Robert Langs fascinating book Decoding Your Dreams.
1) Put a notebook and pen ready before you go to bed.
2) Go to sleep, while your subconscious mind processes what you really think and feel about everything that's going on in your life.
3) When you wake up, while you are still half asleep, start writing down your dreams. Do not edit. Use the first two thirds of each line only.
4) Don't analyse at this stage but if an insight jumps out jot notes in the right hand third of the page. Include any insights, feelings, associations and tangents that come to mind, regardless of whether they seem relevant.
5) Re-read your dream and see what links, themes or associations you can find.
A bizarre dream can be random synapses firing. But a repeated theme or a cross reference, just like a cryptic crossword clue, looks absurd but hides an answer you'd normally never think of.
Here's an example from one of my New Year's dreams.
Theme development - at the first junction I don't question my route or stop to review my choice. I am prevented from progressing and made to realise I should have stopped to check.
At the second junction I know have to stop. There are other drivers and pedestrians. I realise I'm not clear on my route and feel fear about having to move before knowing which way to go. When I am given time to stop and think, I find I know the information, I just needed to pause and remember it. I feel relief, and I happily and confidently change course.
Being brought back to the junction is another aspect. Decoding this, I remember a recurrent thought from late 2016, a complaint regarding things I tried to progress with of 'one step forward, two steps back!'
Theme development - Red and Green lights have a dual function. At the first junction they indicate which direction to take, Left or Right. As I ignored that, at the second junction Stop and Go is more strongly emphasised. Only after stopping can the best direction be taken. Right can mean a direction or certainty. At both junctions I assumed I was right, but it turned out I was wrong! However, at the first junction I needed a sign to show which way to go, and an authority figure to make the correction. At the second junction I knew I needed to stop and backtrack, and certainty about the correct direction came from Inner Knowing.
So the inner wisdom of the dream is telling me that whilst driving through life I need to stop and check which way to turn at junctions. In the past I've looked for 'red light/green light' signs but now I can rely on clear inner knowing. How I drive through life affects not just my journey but other 'road users' too. And if I'm not progressing with some area of life as fast as I think I should then maybe the delay is a good thing as it gives me time to re-assess the situation!
Have fun decoding your dreams and see what you can discover!
Jane
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