THE REASON FOR THE GOAL

Setting your eyes on the prize gives you your whole reason for undertaking the project. Life is short and we only pass this way once. If you're going to put some period of your life into a project, then you need to feel that it's going to be worthwhile. Visualization – setting your eyes on the prize – gives you a glimpse of how you will feel when the project completes.

Visualization involves creating a daydream. In it you start to imagine life as it will be when the project completes. You may dwell on the money you will earn, the recognition of peers and superiors, how your résumé will be enhanced, or perhaps the sense of personal achievement. Whatever it is that drives you, you can get a preview of how you will feel when it is all over. If this preview doesn't fire you up, then – for you – the project probably isn't worth doing. But if you do feel the adrenalin starting to flow, then settle into your daydream and allow it to wash around you. Enjoy it. Luxuriate in it. Think of how good you will feel when the project is completed.