Why dreams need to scare you to be more attainable

You should be feeling a little scared or a little silly at the thought of your dream. This is great, because it means that you are infinitely more likely to actually achieve it! Let us explain.

On a clear New Zealand winter day, a shy young boy named Ed called down quietly to his parents (Percy and Gertrude) from the elm tree that he was climbing in the backyard of his Tuakau home. He had gone up there to avoid conversation with the other boys who had come to his birthday party, and had been lost in his daydreams when he called out:

“Mum, Dad... One day I’m gonna stand on top of the world.” On 29th May 1953 at the age of 33, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers to reach the summit of Mt. Everest – the top of the world.

What a silly dream you think, but most of our best dreams were created as children, before society, looking good and consequence silenced them. But you have hopefully brought that to the surface – and that has taken some courage...

Now that you have dreamed your dream, it’s time to make it real. This time, your task is to tell at least 5, but preferably 10 people what you are going to achieve. Don’t worry about whether you think it is possible or not – you will deal with that in Degree Shift 4. The important thing is to tell as many people as you can about what you are going to achieve, and to tell them with conviction – so that they believe you.

To add a little more competition, you have three levels of conviction to your goal, the results of which will affect what happens in Degree Shift 4.

This article comes from the bestselling book Never Diet Again.