I recently came across PJ Eby's work on thinkingthingsdone.com and find his insights very useful. He's made a study of what mental habits cause us to be either

I recently came across PJ Eby's work on thinkingthingsdone.com and find his insights very useful. He's made a study of what mental habits cause us to be either "naturally successful" or "naturally struggling". I personally have not been making headway on my goals for a while now, so I would say I've been struggling. One key idea is whether one chooses to focus on what one can gain or on what one might lose as you pursue a goal. A focus on potential losses makes one fearful, more likely to be paralyzed and ultimately fail. If you ignore the potential losses and focus on what you can gain, you more naturally just take the actions required to get what you want. Flow is the way to go.