In setting our objectives we instruct our subconscious to help us in realizing our goals. As an example of this we discussed the glasses model in the previous section. The subconscious creates the preconditions so that we can more efficiently achieve the desired goal. In the above example of the daughter we saw that this would also provide for example a good motivation for learning at school. She had considered the learning materials through a pair of glasses which had made them appear interesting.
In top sports events so-called mental training has been used for many years to achieve tremendous levels of performance. In essence this is virtually the same as what we are discussing here: The subconscious helps to focus our strengths and abilities on a concrete objective. Our performance with respect to the goal we are striving for can thereby be tremendously increased.
Sportsmen, who want to belong to the winning group and who for inexplicable reasons can demonstrate a series of successes, are therefore frequently said to have great mental strength. They are determined to reach their goal, they believe in their success and therefore give their subconscious strong signals. In this way the subconscious can correspondingly support them – and the desired success comes. This success in turn has a further strengthening effect and leads to an even stronger belief in further success, which again strengthens the signal to the subconscious and so on.
Let’s compare the help provided by the subconscious with other everyday situations: If our goal is to become a good hurdler, then our subconscious in a manner of speaking provides us with the running shoes and the hurdles. If we wish to become a good mountain climber it provides us with rope, pickaxes and crampons. It is however thereafter up to us as to whether we actually use these aids or prerequirements or whether they simply remain as good intentions.
A long-term goal is normally divided into intermediate goals, the intermediate goals are achieved by solving concrete tasks. If my goal is to be a competent mountain climber perhaps I will set as my initial goal the achievement of a high level of stamina for the climb. Therefore as concrete tasks during the next few weeks and months I go mountain walking until my condition has improved. After this I aim for my next partial goal and so on.
In most cases a goal can be reached in the most diverse ways. By selecting partial goals and tasks we establish our own way. The future mountain climber would also have had to first attend a climbing course in a gymnasium. Possibly for him personally the experience of nature during mountain walking is however very important and during his training in the gymnasium he would perhaps soon have lost his enjoyment of climbing mountains which would have turned him away from the goal.
The selection of partial goals and the tasks which we undertake to achieve these partial goals represent our personal route to the goal. The choice of the route is similarly very important, because this is what finally determines how easily we reach our ultimate goal.