Category Archives: Goal Setting

My Success Formula (pt 5c)- More on Expectations and Emotions

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If You Think You Can, You Can!

(From 5b: Expectations and Emotions)

To sum it all up, if you expect good things to happen  with all your heart, in most cases they will.  The key word here is heart.  The heart holds the power of attraction.  This is also true of less desirable outcomes.  What you feel, you attract.  So, are you feeling optimistic or pessimistic about your dreams, goals, and future?

Expectations+ Emotions Have Creative Power

Whatever you are feeling, you are creating.  Our feelings move us beyond lip service. So we’ve got to think about and feel about only those things we want to attract into our lives.  When you truly love someone or something, you can’t help but think about, talk about, and feel exhilarated by that person or thing.  This energy moves you to action.  It is the same principle when pursuing our dreams.  It’s not enough to just want success.  We must also think, speak, act, and feel our way to our goal.  That is when we begin to realize the power of expectations. When our expectations and emotions are congruent we excel.  You can’t expect something wonderful and hate or resent it at the same time.  You can’t fear something awful and want or love it.

Pygmalion and Galatea Effects

I just read an article about the power of expectations at work,’The Pygmalion and Galatea Effects.  In this About.com article, Susan Heathfield writes, “Your expectations of people and their expectations of themselves are the key factors in how well people perform at work. Known as the Pygmalion effect and the Galatea effect, respectively, the power of expectations cannot be overestimated.” I submit, that your expectation is the key factors in achieving any goal you pursue whether professional or personal.   In another article on the Galatea effect, the author writes, “One of life’s greatest gifts you can give someone is to believe in them. Think about someone who believes in you? Don’t you work harder to live up to those expectations? Sure you do. It’s human nature.” Another fact of human nature is that you get back magnified what you send out.  So, give someone a priceless gift by letting them know how much you believe in them.  Continue to 5c: Expectations and Emotional Congruence.

I’m Barbara Talley, the poet who speaks and inspires.  To find out more about me check out: What Does Barbara Do? or visit  my website.

My Success Formula (pt 5b)- Expectations and Emotions

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(From 5a: Expectations)

I believe that fear is the most powerful negative motivator and faith is the most powerful positive motivator.   Some might say love and hate because faith is rooted in love and hate is rooted in fear.  We do what we do to move towards that which we love and away from that which we hate or fear.   I assert that most of our actions are faith-based or fear-based.    While you could potentially have the same outcome, acting out of fear is more stressful and a lot less enjoyable.  For example, you might stay in school because you fear joblessness and poverty, but it would be far better experience to stay in school because you love learning.

Emotions Can Motivate or Manipulate

The media does that to us all the time.   They use fear tactics to get us to act in a certain way.  But, while fear can motivate us to act, it can also paralyze us.  How many times have you neglected to go after a dream because you convinced yourself that you would fail.  You allowed your own fear or someone else’s opinion to stop you from pursuing your dreams.

Faith Is A Greater Motivator

Faith is a far greater motivator, can “move mountains,” and can give the advantage to the underdog.  When we get hyped up we release powerful endorphins that can give us an emotional boost. When you pursue a goal that you care about with faith, you create radiant energy and excitement.   Emotions matter; what we feel, we give energy to!  Until we actually feel it, some say we will not see it.  When we expect something, we anticipate that something will happen beforehand.   To anticipate means to think, speak, act, or feel an emotional response in advance.  ‘In Advance‘ are the key words, which mean we must begin thinking, speaking, acting, and feeling before we manifest our dreams. If we really believe and expect success, we must do what we must to feel it!  That is why sales people spend millions of dollars advertising their products, they want you to feel what the actors are feeling.  They know that when we associate their products to a feeling, we’ll buy it.  And, so it is with our own goals and dreams.   If we don’t feel it, it isn’t yet real to us and our success is not certain.  Continue to 5c: More on Expectations and Emotions

I’m Barbara Talley, the poet who speaks and inspires.  To find out more about me check out: What Does Barbara Do? or visit  my website.

My Success Formula (pt 5a)- Expectations

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(Continued from Part 4: Thoughts)

This is the fifth in the series describing my personal success formula. We’ve discussed how we must first have a vision or an outcome in mind.  Next, we must be aware of and seek the knowledge required to create a plan and carry it out.  Thirdly, we must have the faith or belief that our vision or dream is possible.  Then we must make sure that our thoughts are positive and affirming and work in our favor.   After that, we must be clear about and focus on the importance and power of our expectations.  The ‘E” in my formula stands for expectations and emotions.  While our thoughts focus on visualizing and articulating our vision, our expectations also include an emotional aspect.

Emotions Motivate Quicker Than Thoughts

Some experts say our emotions motivate us to action quicker than our thoughts do.  How many times have you thought about doing something and even talked about doing something, but never really did anything about it?  Everyone has had that happen.  So, what is it that moves us to action?  It is our emotions!  They can make us do something or prevent us.  But, which emotions are the most powerful?  Continue to 5b: Expectations and Emotions )

I’m Barbara Talley, the poet who speaks and inspires.  To find out more about me check out: What Does Barbara Do? or visit  my website.

My Success Formula (pt 4)- Thoughts

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(Previous on Beliefs)

We Are What We Think.

I have three favorite spiritual quotes that have greatly influenced my thinking on the power of  thoughts.  The first is from the Buddha.  “We are what we think, having become what we thought.” The second is biblical. “As a man thinketh, so is he.” The third comes from the Baha’i Writings.  “The reality of man is his thoughts.” If you want to know what you’ve been thinking consciously and subconsciously, examine your current reality.  What is manifesting?  What do you see around you?  What are you feeling?   We are above all creative beings, that is, we create our own reality.  The tool which allows us to do this is our thoughts.

Thoughts are things.

Thoughts are real.  Thoughts create reality.    I was just watching a video by Bruce Lipton that talked about the power of our conscious and subconscious minds.  He explained why positive thoughts alone don’t change our reality because our positive thoughts which come from our conscious thoughts only operate about 5% of the time.  He suggested that 95-99% of our thoughts are subconscious.  Most of our thoughts are a result of our programming which begins at our birth and for the first six years he says, are operating in a theta wave state.  We were in a state of automatic download which meant we were receiving the programming from our parents, environment, and influences (television, teachers, sibling, etc.)  Research shows children under six don’t have the capacity in the theta state to understand the difference between reality and fantasy.  That is why some experts on child development state that young children should not watch television at all.  They know that the children are being programmed and don’t have the capacity yet to challenge that programming which could potentially be with them for life if gone unchecked.   But, now we are adults and we must challenge or reprogram much of our old programming.  If life is working for you, then your programming must be working.  If it’s not than you need to reprogram! Continue: More on Thoughts.

I’m Barbara Talley, the poet who speaks and inspires.  To find out more about me check out: What Does Barbara Do? or visit  my website.

My Success Formula (pt 3) Belief continued

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Take That First Step and Last Step in Faith

Part 1 of Belief

So once you’re clear on the outcome, and you’ve sought out the initial knowledge you need,  your belief is more important than ever.  As Dr. Martin Luther King said, “You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just the first step.” Faith inspires you to take that first step and know that the second step will be there when you get there.   Belief determines whether a dream remains a dream or will become reality.

Many people talk about grandiose goals and dreams.   Some even visualize what they want and seek knowledge about what it would take to achieve their goals.  Many stop there when that is precisely the time to rely on their faith to move them to the next level.

You Can If You Think You Can!

Don’t let anyone talk you out of your dreams by convincing you that  it’s too risky. And, be very, very careful about what you believe or who you believe.  Why should someone’s opinion of your possibilities supersede your faith in yourself? Why would you consciously give someone that much power over your destiny?  Your vision is a sneak preview into your reality.  If you can see it is real.  But, only your belief will move you towards that which you see in your visions.   If you believe you will succeed, you will.  Your mind is the most powerful tool in the universe.  It is your faith that coaxes a wish or desire from the realm of thought into the realm of reality. (Continue to Part 4 of Success Formula: THOUGHTS)

I’m Barbara Talley, the poet who speaks and inspires.  To find out more about me check out: What Does Barbara Do? or visit  my website.