How healthy is your vision of yourself? How does your mental image of yourself stack up against that of, say, some hero of yours? Let's find out.

Take a few seconds and picture yourself in your mind's eye. Now imagine a hero of yours in the same setting. Did your vision have to "shift" a little? A lot perhaps?

Is your posture, both internal and external, as strong and confident as that of your hero? If not, you might want to read on.

If you suffer from insecurities, doubts, or shaky self-esteem, you have plenty of company. Actually, every one of us falls prey to these at some time or another in varying degrees.

And no wonder! Just about every form of media is constantly and relentlessly pelting us with messages of our inadequacies. We're not sexy enough or fit enough or sophisticated enough. We sorely lack this thing or that thing. We're just plain not good enough the way we are. Baloney!

Not surprisingly, we need to be as constant and relentless in our efforts to feed our minds positive messages. This is the only way we can expect to counteract and overpower the negative messages we get on a regular, ongoing basis. Makes sense, yes?

Now, writing out our goals every day is a great beginning.

HOWEVER, we also need to be able to envision ourselves enjoying these goals. If our minds cannot handle the concept of success, even if we were to stumble onto a fortune, our impoverished self-image would soon separate us from any form of riches.

There are plenty of stories out there about people who have won the lottery, only to find themselves as poor as ever after a short period of time.

These people actually managed to squander or otherwise lose all their wealth in order for their circumstances to once again match their impoverished identities!

I couldn't believe this the first time I heard such a story, but there have been many more since. I figured that a guy would have to be a complete idiot in order to allow such a thing to happen.

I have since concluded that it has little to do with intelligence. It is simply that the people in question were not mentally equipped to accept abundance.

So you see, it is essential to take whatever steps are necessary to improve our self-image and feelings of worthiness. If not, we run a very high risk of sabotaging all our efforts in the end.

Here are a few things we can do:

- Read inspirational books daily and highlight meaningful passages. (If you don't have any on hand, take one of my favorites for free! Just click on the free stuff.) http://www.scienceofgettingrich.net/gifts/ME2U.html

- Read a passage here and there throughout the day, every day. (This only takes a few seconds.)

- Subscribe to a motivational site for a daily inspirational email.

- Carry your favorite motivational reminders with you to read while sitting in traffic, waiting in line, etc. Old business cards work great. They're just the right size.

- Get a motivational screen-saver. These are amazingly effective. There is an especially good one available for free from the link above.

- Go ahead and try out some new behaviors. Act "as if" you already had the qualities you're aspiring to. Change the behavior and the belief will follow.

- Mentally refute ads or commercials that make you feel "less than." Don't buy into their Hollywood madness.

- Congratulate yourself as wholeheartedly as you would a friend on your progress.

These psychological treats are as crucial to our health and well-being as food is to our bodies. Just as we would suffer serious and noticeable effects after not eating for several days, our spirits languish just as much when we fail to nourish them properly.

Sadly, we don't seem to notice it as much because our spirits have gotten used to living in a state of deprivation. Or maybe not. Prozac, anyone? (Sorry, let's not even go there.)

So how healthy is YOUR self-image? Are you mentally prepared to handle the success you seek? Can you see yourself comfortably enjoying the goals that you are striving for?

If not, it's time to take action. Action, action, and more action. Naturally, major changes will not occur with the first few attempts. It is our repeated, consistent efforts that will create the permanent changes that we are after.

I know that you know this. I also know that sometimes you need someone else to cheer you on. Well, here I am. Keep priming that pump, Honey! Attaboy! You go, Girl! If you're reading this article, this cheer is for you. Hooray!!!

Rosella Aranda, marketer and author, helps entrepreneurs change their thinking and escape limitations permanently. http://www.SabotageThyselfNoMore.com/ Free mini-course. http://www.FinancialFreedomWorld.com/ Top Internet Tools! http://www.FromThoughtsToRiches.com/ How to Be Rich