With the very best of intentions, we go through cycle after cycle (can you say New Year's resolutions?) of coming up with plans, goals, and waves of willpower that will finally have us "hanging ten"on the big one that will surf us into our dreams.



Then, before we know it, after a short amount of time, we are back in the same rut of doing what we were doing before, and another set of hopes and dreams are out the window. Of course, we thought it was going to be different this time. We were sure that this time, this mother of all goal setting time would finally be the one we stick to. But?here we are again, disappointed and discouraged. This last set of goals is down the drain, and you are wondering how you are going to keep that from happening again.

The good news is, YOU CAN! How do I know that? How can I promise you this? How can I guarantee it? Because I've been down that road. I've done that, and like you, have been through the same pattern over and over and over. Not anymore though... well, not nearly as often, that's for sure. I can't say "never", but I can say "rarely". I cannot say that I honestly keep every goal and every resolution, but I can tell you that for the most part I set goals, take massive action, and do what it takes to make sure they come to fruition.

I want to share 10 secrets about how YOU can set your goals, whether personal, financial, or spiritual, and how you can keep your goals from falling apart like in the past.

Secret One: Set goals you can actually achieve

Have you ever seen those people who put great big disks in their lip and stretch them out? How about the ones who stretch their necks out by ring after ring, one on top of each other? How about those dudes who stick swords down their throats?

Do you think they were able to do these things right off the bat? Did they just decide one morning to take the largest disk, the most rings, or the longest sword and get the job done. No. They started at the beginning with the smallest first and worked their way on up. One major reason that people fail to reach their goals is they have created goals that are too grand in scope. They are unrealistic and unachievable. Sadly, we are not taught to realistically assess our own abilities or determine our current level of discipline.

Let's suppose you have spent the last 10 years putting on 150 pounds. Don't think you will lose that amount of weight in only six months. If you have never established healthy eating habits, don't be foolish enough to swear off sugar for the rest of your life. It will only take a few days to blow that one.

If you've never kept a rigid schedule or developed any kind of habits concerning goals, don't think you're going to change your entire life in one day. You won't. You have to work up to big change by setting achievable goals of small change.

Let's say you're final goal is to earn and save $200,000 in one year and do 200 push-ups in one sitting. If you've never worked hard, educated yourself about business and been disciplined, you aren't going to have the ability to just go out and make $200 grand. In the same way, you are not going to plop down on the ground tomorrow and whip out 200 push-ups.

If you want to get to 200 push-ups in one sitting, start with a goal of being able to do two. Once you can do a couple of push-ups, then set a goal of five. After you proven to yourself you can do five, shoot for 10, then 20, then 50. Plan achievable goals that will motivate you and keep you enthusiastic. Set goals that you know you can reach and that you know you'll keep rather than trying to impress everyone with your super goals that always fail.

Back to the goal of saving $200,000. Start by saving $20. Then, make $100 and save $100. Quit spending, stop eating out five times a week, get out of debt. Set a goal of saving $500. Once you achieve that goal, shoot for $1,000, then $5,000.

The secret to achieving your goals is taking baby steps. Underpromising and overachieveing will keep you feeling motivated and successful instead of feeling like a failure because you had unrealistic expectations. How do you begin a walk from New York City to Los Angeles? One little step at a time. You may even have to begin with one step a DAY. That's the mentality you need to make your goals a reality.