“The virtue of achievement is victory over oneself. Those who know this can never know defeat.”
~A.J. Cronin

This article is for those of us that know exactly what we need to do, why we need to do it, yet still fail to follow through on our good intentions.

Every person on the planet has been a victim of this phenomenon at one point or another.

I call it a phenomenon because it seems counter intuitive to me how a perfectly intelligent person could know which direction is right for them and then walk the other way.

1. Define What you Really Want. Many of us say what we want, but can’t actually define it. Go to wikipedia if you’re not sure, but make sure you have a clear mental image of what you really want to accomplish.

I told her, “you say that you love him, but I’m just curious, could you define love?”

“The greatest reward is to know that one can speak and emit articulate sounds and utter words that describe things, events and emotions.”
~Camilo Jose Cela

2. Write Your Reasons. Once you’ve clearly defined what you want, and written it down, write down the reasons of why you want to accomplish this. Just having a definition does not provide the ambition to obtain what you want.

Getting in shape may be for obvious reasons to you, but it must be a specific written reason. It could be to get in shape, to protect yourself from obesity, or to fit into an awesome dress. Get personal and vivid.

3. Check Your Position. Where are you now, in comparison to where you want to be? If you can answer this question, than you can also answer the question of how much further your destination is.

Being able to identify the distance between you and your destination allows you to see your goal as more realistic, achievable, and not as intimidating as it was before.

4. Create An Emotional Steroid. Put together a beautiful set of words to express how amazing you will feel once you accomplish this goal.

Imagine the feelings within your body, the praises that you will get from your family and friends, and most importantly the benefit this accomplishment will have to your self-image.

5. Create An Emotional Shocker. Write down all the negative things that will happen to you as a consequence of not getting your goal complete.

Be severely brutal in this analysis and take into consideration all the worst case scenarios. If the positive boost of the emotional steroid won’t send you rocketing towards your goal, then perhaps a nice tug from the emotional shocker will get you past the finish line.

“Happy people plan actions, they don’t plan results.”
~Dennis Wholey

6. Detailed Plan of Action. One thing that keeps people procrastinating and stands between them and a result is a project that seems too big to handle.

The simple solution is to plan in such a way that this big project is broken down into several smaller workable action items. Couple this with exact time frames for completetion and you’ll notice yourself achieving in no time.

7. Want For Yourself. Stop the “I’ll do it for them”. In reality we are all selfish beings. Even the saints among us, they receive great pleasure for giving of themselves and being god-like. Since they consistently do good deeds and receive pleasure, they are selfish in this way.

Create a self-serving benefit out of whatever it is you’re working on and do it for that reason.

“Feeling and longing are the motive forces behind all human endeavor and human creations.”
~Albert Einstein

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