No doubt you’ve seen evidence of its ascendance: The cottage industry that’s become a multibillion dollar “motivational industrial complex” of sorts. Its rallying cry, “If you think it, you can achieve it!” is plastered just about everywhere these days. From gilt-framed posters of eagles soaring high above Alpine peaks, to bland, bald, and barefooted Ziggy offering up a side of sentimentality with every calendar-month cartoon affirmation, to treacly tidings engraved on necklaces and bracelets “perfect for the graduate in your life.” They all echo a variation of that familiar exhortation: Dream the impossible dream!

However, simply dreaming the impossible dream can actually prove counterproductive, rendering many goals quixotic at best.

 …