Head Start

Chapter 1

Ten myths about achieving your goals

Addressing those myths

I could never do that!

If that’s a thought that’s ever held you back from attempting to fulfil a cherished ambition, then you’re not alone. As we shall see, self-doubt is a pretty universal – and at one level, necessary – facet of our human wiring. Nevertheless, it can get in the way of achieving our goals. So often, it’s not that we try and fail, it’s that we don’t have the confidence or self-belief to try in the first place. The word psychologists use for this is ‘self-efficacy’, the extent to which we believe that we can do something.

There is no simple, agreed, scientifically established way of overcoming this. If there were, we’d already be using it. As a result, ...