Inspirational Visuals - Goal Setting Lessons from Bolivia

On the shores of Lake Titicaca lies the town of Copacabana, Bolivia. The town is home to many exciting sites, one of which is a 16th century colonial church. Outside the church on Sundays people come with their cars to have them blessed, presumably to keep them running for another week. My van could use some kind of blessing right now, or perhaps an exorcism. Another neat feature outside the gates of the church is a table of objects for sale. When I first walked by I assumed it was just another vendor selling their wares but upon closer inspection I noticed there were no llama hats or colorful purses but rather a table full of toys. There were cars, and little houses, stacks of play money and condominium doll houses. I found out later that these were not toys for the kids but in fact serious items for the adults. What lay before me was a powerful principle in the world of goal setting. When people make a pilgrimage to Copacabana, they go to the church and purchase one of these trinkets from the table outside, like a car. Then they wait for the church service to end and the priest will come outside and bless the item they are holding in their hand. With this blessing people return home with desired object in hand. You can buy mini cars, stacks of money, university degrees, houses, large condos, friends, even little men with backpacks full of all the things one would want in life. Apparently there was a French woman who bought one of the stacks of cash to bring home as a souvenir but got arrested in Miami when she went through customs. It took two weeks of intervening by the French Embassy to get her out of jail. You may not be going to Copacabana anytime soon but you there is a powerful principle at work here. Having an object that physically represents your goal is one way to up the chances of you actually attaining it. Pictures, or miniature representations of your goals help you in the following ways: 1. Focus - Constantly having your goal in front of you helps you say no to the distractions, which will derail your progress. Most of us do not reach our goals because we cannot stay focused. Having a constant reminder in front of you ups your odds. 2. Motivation - When we lose motivation to pursue our goals we quickly get off track. A physical representation helps us keep the image before us and gives us strength to say no to distractions that may compromise our efforts. The image helps us stay motivated to pursue our goal. 3. Eye Opener - Having your goal in front of you creates a state of alertness to anything related to your goal. This enables your Reticular Activating System (your brain's filter) to let in any messages related to your goal. By having more access to these stimuli you will now begin to notice more and more opportunities related to your goal. If you are planning a trip to Hawaii and you constantly have a visual representation in front of you, you will automatically pick up on any cues related to Hawaii. You may overhear a coworker talk about their recent trip to paradise, which prompts you to ask them about accommodation options. It might turn out that they own a condo, which they would be happy to rent to you for half the price of any hotel. You may think how lucky you are, but it really is a case of your brain pricking up on relevant cues because you had kept your goal of Hawaii in front of you. Physical representations of your goals can take various forms: â