Focusing routinely on foreshadowing failure, rather than visualizing success, can nearly double the probability of reaching one's goal.

“The Balcetis Lab and other labs have looked at whether or not people make progress toward goals of different types. Whether or not they're thinking about the goal. They're thinking about that goal line and what they want to achieve, that long-term goal and all the wonderful things associated with it, or whether or not they're thinking about all the ways in which they could fail, en route to that goal.”

“You're supposed to think about how things could fail, if you don't get up and run each morning, if your goal is, say a fitness goal.”

“Rather, foreshadowing failure, visualizing failure and all the terrible things that it's going to bring seems to be more effective.”

“Talked about the use of the visual system to better achieve goals and indeed things like visualization and why forecasting failure can be more effective than forecasting success.”