Some of us have great imaginations and a lot of self-confidence. We can take large steps toward achieving our dreams. For others of us it is hard to accept a large change in our lives so quickly. For example, imagine a future in which you have won the lottery. Do you see negative as well as positive impacts to your life? Our objections automatically work against the manifestation.

It takes much less energy to manifest a small step than a big one. We can go from mail room clerk to CEO, but we probably aren’t going to do it overnight. It’s hard to imagine sitting in the CEO’s chair—it’s too far from our own experience. It’s much easier to imagine being the manager of the mail room. We already know how the mail room works and we can observe what it takes to manage the place.

Whatever the change is that we want in our lives, it almost always breaks down into smaller, more manageable stages. We can focus on each of these stages in turn, building from one success to another, until we arrive at the result that we want.

Affirmation

I take steps to achieve my goals.

Practice: Create the stages

Reread your answer to the question in the Dream Big practice section. Think about the steps that can move you toward that dream.

For example, say you make $10,000 each year, and you want to make $100,000 each year. Can you imagine yourself making $100,000? You might be able to make that jump in a single step.

If you find that you have a hard time accepting that you can make that much tomorrow, find the number that you can accept. Can you imagine making $25,000? What would it take to increase your income to that amount? Do you need to move from part time to full time work, or simply work for another company?

What is the next step you can imagine? Can you jump from $25,000 to $40,000 per year? That might take a change in career. You might attend night school, or apprentice to someone who is working in the field you want to enter.

Do you know someone who makes $100,000 per year? How did they obtain their position? If you don’t know anyone who makes that much, ask people around you if they know someone, or do an internet search for the types of positions that draw that salary. What career path leads to that position?

This is one example. We can do the same practice to move ourselves toward working from home, finishing a marathon, bringing a child into our lives, writing a book or painting a picture, or whatever we can dream.