From NPR, this is Hidden Brain, I'm Shankar Vedanta.

There is so much in our culture that celebrates the power of positive thinking.

We're often told to follow our hearts, to dream big.

You can have, do, or be anything you want.

Whatever belief you hold in your subconscious mind will become your reality, bottom line.

Value yourself and believe in yourself.

Because believing that the dots will connect down the road,

will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well-worn path.

But now, research a Gabrielle Eddie and says, maybe we should all dream a little smaller.

Positive fantasies and daydreams as pleasurable they are,

they have a problem when it comes to fulfilling our wishes and attaining our goals.

Today, as part of our U2.0 series, we bring you an episode from our archive that asks,

is there a methodical way to achieve your dreams?

Turns out, there is.

And this scientific technique has an acronym.

Woop!

Gabrielle is a professor at New York University,

an author of the book, Rethinking Positive Thinking,

Inside the New Science of Motivation.

She's from Germany, and she said growing up, no one told her to shoot for the stars.

The idea of big dreams, big hopes was if it all more implicit than explicit.

When she came to the United States, though, Gabrielle noticed a real cultural difference.

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