We all have dreams and goals. We dream of the family we want to have, the job we want, the companies we want to build and the life we want to live. The dreams we have are neither too big nor too small; they are the wishes of our subconscious and therefore they are just the right size for us.

But why is it that many people do not get to see their dreams come to life?

You may have been going at it for as long as you can remember and questioning why you aren’t able to find that breakthrough. All of us go through this from time to time. It’s only human to question where we are and where we would rather be.

Every great life begins with a dream. If you have a dream, you have taken the important step. What is left now is for you to position your mind in the right place.

A change in your thought process is all you need now to begin making some proper progress.

Colin Powell said: “A dream doesn’t become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination, and hard work.”

Are you ready to take the necessary steps to achieve your dreams?

The only thing that is separating you and your destiny is your state of mind. Your dreams can come true, you can get to where you need to be in life if you have the courage to reach out for the things you want.

Yes, you will fall, many times. But like a baby, you need to have the spirit of determination and stand up again, every single time. Once you allow your mind to reach a place where it can move from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm, you will experience life in a different light.

The future belongs to those who have a pure mind and a gentle heart. You will experience many dark thoughts in your time. That is inevitable. However, the choice to dwell or move on from the dark thoughts remains on your power. They may seem overwhelming, but they’re within your control with a little practice.

Start to recognise such dark thoughts by paying attention to what you’re thinking about. If you can recognise where you begin to slip into negative thought patters, you’ll be much more in control of what enters your mind, and therefore what populates your world.

This is a discipline, and won’t be easy. But if you can develop the muscle, soon you’ll find yourself naturally acting on positive thoughts and impulses, rather than giving in to the negative ones.

Getting to that healthy mental place where your thoughts propel you forward, rather than holds you back, will require a process of self-training. Whenever you notice yourself thinking something negative, allow that thought to be there. Realise it’s just a message from your mind. Appreciate that message.

Once emotions are calmed, direct your mind towards something positive. Perhaps there is something enjoyable about a boring work task. Maybe you are more competent than you’re giving yourself credit. Maybe that massive goal is possible if you break it down into small enough bits.

If you do this enough times, your subconscious will take over the process and you will notice fewer and fewer negative thoughts in your life. This will cause a domino effect and cause sweeping change in your life.

Here is an exercise to help you condition your mind.

Think of a short-term goal. Something that you want to do or achieve in the next few hours of days.

Now think of what would happen if you do not reach that goal. Write those possibilities down. Would you feel good about yourself if you don’t reach that goal? What are the negative consequences for both the short-term and long-term areas of your life?

Next to that, write down all the good things that will happen if you achieved your goal. Think of all the positive changes to your life, as well as the opportunities it would open up for you.

Your objective in this exercise is to make sure your list of positives becomes longer than the negatives. If you can really drive it deep into your mind that pursuing your goal is going to solve problems and also lead to happiness for you, then you’ll find yourself naturally following through.

Go ahead and do this for your other objectives as well. As you continue doing this, your mind will get used to prioritizing the positives of life and you will notice a healthy shift in your thought process.

In the words of Harvey Mackay: “Real dreams take work. They take patience, and sometimes they require you to dig down very deep. Be sure you’re willing to do that.”

If you take that mental leap, and if you change your mindset, you’ll get where you need to be. Learn to trust your instincts and cast away fears of falling along the way. For as Paulo Coelho wrote: “There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.”

It’s up to you to find the best mindset for success so that you don’t stand in your own way.