If you want to do a better job of achieving difficult goals, then it is important to contrast the future and the present In particular, it is important to know what the obstacles are that will get in the way of achieving the desired future. Most people are good at talking themselves out of doing new things by focusing on the obstacles that will bloc the pursuit of a goal. As it turns out, though, those obstacles will get in the way even if you ignore them. The trick is to use your ability to find obstacles to plan for the problems that will arise