The New Resilience

I have always thought that imagination and visualisation of wished occurances drive them away rather than towards you. I thoroughly agree with this article and expect that because we dream with the final product in mind, it saps us of the energy to deal with the steps to getting there which is a required reality of the vision. I base this on personal experience, for example I always had the dream/wish to hit the winning shot in a game of basketball and would envision this in my mind day after day. I believe that because I felt the elation of the wish already through my thought about it, the motivation to chase this situation became somewhat diluted and when the situation presented itself the thought did not translate to the reality (and the game situation is often something that is hard to replicate in training). Rather than visualise getting my shot right on a shot-by-shot basis, the big picture took over. I definitely think fantasising about the next feasible step is the path of success in achieving a goal.

So how should we set our intentions? If I put my energy towards thinking of serving the greater good in some way where do the actions steps come from? I think you're right because that's what Buddhism teaches...self-self-self-no self-all one...the process of arriving still eludes probably because of maladaptive control-behaviors. I've gotten better over the years, less rigid, but gee whiz...One very good thing is that my current job provides me with the opportunity, everyday, to be totally engaged in the lives and wellness of other people so I simply don't think about myself. I can also reach that self-less place through photography, sometimes visual art (as long as it's not for someone and I'm not worrying about how much the canvas cost or thinking it's a waste...digital images are totally free!)and being active outside. I will do more of those things.
I'm still pretty sure I also missed it though? Open to suggestions..

It would be useful to include the reference when you base your post on a specific study. Could you please let us know the reference or at least authors and journal name?
Thanks