A laser is what happens when you separate out a single wavelength of light and "focus" it in a given direction. This single wavelength is called "coherent" light. Without other wavelengths to interfere with it, coherent light exhibits a power far beyond that of "normal" light. You can light a room with a light bulb; you can perform surgery with a laser. Thought works the same way.

We spend most of our day walking around with a jumbled mess of thought in our heads. For every thought that leads us in one direction, three more appear to interfere with it. "What did I do with my car keys? I have to remember that meeting this afternoon! Did I feed the dog yet this morning?" We have hardly even begun to tap into the power of truly coherent thought. Mostly because it hardly ever happens.

Still, with a little effort, we can start to make some progress. The practice of meditation can help to quiet the active mind, but meditation is most often used to seek silence, or the absence of thought. The art of coherent thought, by contrast, is the art of concentration; it is the art of introducing one single thought into that silence and then holding it there, without allowing any other thoughts to interfere with it. It is the art of thinking, "I am an attractive human being," without adding, "but not as attractive as I'd like to be." It is the art of thinking, "I can be whoever I want to be," without following it with all the reasons why we "really can't."

The best way I've found to approach coherent thought is to sneak up on it. I start by sitting in a comfortable position and thinking about my breathing. I concentrate on breathing deeply, over and over. As that becomes automatic, I begin to concentrate on relaxing my neck and shoulders. That's where I carry tension. Then I concentrate on relaxing my back, while keeping my spine in a natural position (neither abnormally straight nor hunched over). It took me a while to learn even this much, but practice works wonders.

Once I am in this wonderfully relaxed state, my mind moves more readily into coherent thought. The habits of stress and fear that we tend to carry around with us drop away with deep relaxation, and positive thoughts no longer trigger the familiar resistance. With the practice of coherent thought, change can occur much more rapidly, and you'll find yourself recognizing and celebrating that progress as it unfolds. (You can read more about visualizing change here.)

Whatever you hope to achieve, whether in your personal or professional life, I encourage you to play with the power of coherent thought. The greatest thing this practice can do for you is to help you change your mindset about the changes you seek. Goals that once felt overwhelming will come to seem naturally attainable, even inevitable. The key is to spend some time focusing on your goals in this coherent way. When thoughts of "failure" don't arise to interfere with our new thoughts and cancel out our intentions, anything is possible.