The Midrash states: “Prayer affects a half.” ( Vayikra Raba, parasha 10.)
The very prayer, the very will, and the very supplication themselves already advance a person half of the way to his destination.
Every good wish and every good intention become part of a person’s reality, and in themselves already constitute the beginning of the journey.
The very determination to reach great heights, and certainly the genuine readiness to set out on the path one has decided upon and dreamed about, change the person himself and make it possible for him to actually get there, even though great persistence will yet be required.
The limits of possible achievement in this regard depend solely on the persons will.
The place that a person wants to reach will mark the limit of his ability.
Thus, setting a goal, an objective, provides the opening for reaching it, the possibility of real life, life with direction – a human life.
–Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz