What are You Waiting For?
by Rachel Lukasavige

We are already half way into January and I would be willing to bet that there are some of you who have not yet sat down to determine what your goals are for the year. There are probably others who have written goals but have not arrived at the point of starting them. Well, what are you waiting for?

I have discovered over the years that there is always an excuse to wait to change your life until "tomorrow." I also realize that the best time to make a change is today. If you do not start writing down your goals and the steps needed to achieve those, there will always be another excuse.

Take a look at the following barriers then do your best to avoid falling in their traps.

Procrastination
Procrastination is a common problem among people who want to start their goals. People who procrastinate might think about how they need to start their goals, and then decide that there are other, more important things to do first. If you have decided that you want to lose 10 pounds in the next six weeks, do not wait to start working on it until after the dinner you have out with your friends this weekend. Start making changes today.

Generalization
Do not make your goals too broad. You need to be very specific when you write down what you want to achieve. For instance, do not set a goal to "work out more." Instead, set a goal to do 30 minutes of cardio three days per week. When goals are specific you will be able to more easily track your progress.

Lofty Goals
It is much easier to achieve smaller goals along the way to your larger ones. If you set too high of a goal you will get overwhelmed and frustrated when you are unable to reach it. You may not even know where to start. Begin by breaking down your ultimate goal into smaller, more manageable pieces with shorter time frames. If you want to lose 50 pounds over the next six months, do not aim for 50. Instead, set a goal to lose 10 pounds in the next month, which is only 2.5 pounds per week! Once you reach the smaller goals, continue to set new ones until you have accomplished your larger one.

Obstacles
For every goal you start there will always be an obstacle to overcome - some call this Murphy's Law. Begin your goal with the assumption that there are going to be hurdles, so you can plan to deal with them accordingly. If you decide to eat healthier, a setback could be going into work only to find your coworkers have brought in a cake for someone's birthday. On the other hand, if you have planned for such an event and know that eating a small piece of cake is okay, you will not get discouraged and give up.

Realize that today is the day to start your goals. Do not wait another minute to figure out what you want to achieve and then go out and start! And remember that your goals are more likely to be successful when you write them down and tell others about them.

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