On infrequent occasions, somebody will push you to achieve your goals, especially when it involves personal investments out of what most people consider “worth trying” (unless it’s its job to do so and it’s being paid for). Even if it’s a family member, an excellent close friend, or your partner who ideally might happen to be supportive of your crazy ideas/goals/dreams, they may not give you all the motivation needed to get you there. However, that’s not a reason to give up, blaming those who didn’t encourage you enough.

Remember, the spark to achieve your goal must ignite from within. You are the master of your decisions, the sole force driving your life towards your aspirations.

Willingness varies depending on:
– Time
– Risk
– People Expectations

Time: The longer a goal may take, the more likely your willingness to achieve it will drop. This occurs because many of us want instant gratification. Keeping a log that you can review will help you maintain the willingness to finally accomplish your goal.

Risk: High risk will make you overthink your decision. Close friends and family could influence you as well, and here the challenge is to be adamant and not let people change your decision as that can stop you from making great things happen.

People Expectations: We all have them, and it can cause a change in your willingness to achieve something. People’s expectations may demotivate you as they might put too much pressure on you, or what can be worse, they might not see any value in what you want to complete, and therefore, you could feel that you’re wasting your time. Be very selective with whom you share your ideas to minimize this factor’s impact on you.

A short personal story of success

I lived in New York City for a while, but it took me time (six years) and risk to get here. For some reason, in my childhood, I’ve always dreamt about living in New York City. Somehow, I knew that someday it would happen. Once I finished my studies, I decided to move from my hometown, a small city in the south of Spain, to Barcelona where I lived for three years. I had a stable job, but I could do better.

I started talking about quitting my job to migrate to London with some friends and family. Even though many of them didn’t truly understand why I wanted to take the risk of going to another country, which meant to start from scratch. It was clearly a middle step I had to take to achieve my childhood dream. Therefore, I kept only those opinions and ideas in mind that were positive and encouraging, and I took the risk that I had leveraged already. In the worst case scenario, I would have returned to Spain until I had enough strength to move again.

After one month, I found a job in London and, a year later, switched to another company, which eventually brought me to New York City. It didn’t happen immediately. It took me six years since I made the decision that I wanted to live in New York (Of course, there would have been other ways to obtain the same result in less time, however at that time, it was how I approached that problem that led me to many great experiences and personal growth.)

Throughout those six years, I clung to my determination, staying focused on gaining the necessary experience to realize my dream. A crucial element in this journey was the unwavering support and encouragement I received from positive influences, be it from familiar faces or from stories like mine.

Close your eyes, breathe deeply, and picture yourself where you want to be

Willingness needs a place to start and time to be developed. One can be born with certain predispositions, thanks to genetics, which can make that person more resilient than others. Nevertheless, that matter of fact doesn’t mean that a certain state of mind can’t be developed over time.

Where does that willingness start?

Short answer, in your brain. It is still a magical process that sometimes can be manifested out of the blue. In scientific words, this occurs from neural processes triggered by an external and internal stimulus.
It takes time to develop an attitude that will put you on a good track to accomplish your goals. It’s not an easy job, and chances are that you will feel like you’re on a roller coaster. Not all goals have an apparent meaning, especially when trying to find a purpose to justify a goal that you want to achieve.

“What is now proved was once only imagined.”

William Blake

So close your eyes, visualize what you want to accomplish, take a deep breath, and repeat. Let your electric impulses flow through your interconnected neurons, and avoid looking for meanings more than the pleasure of satisfying your personal growth.