Everybody has at some time or other found themselves in a situation or rut in life which they find hard to get themselves out of. There could be any number of scenarios, for example: an ever increasing credit card debt, a bad smoking habit, a career that is too draining or unfulfilling, health problems. In fact you can probably insert your own situation here that you are in the midst of or remember being in.

If you find yourselves in one of these situations here are a few points you may wish to bear in mind when trying to turn things around.

Firstly, the chances are that you helped create the situation you are in through the choices or more than likely the lack of positive choices that you did or didn't make. The good thing about that is that it must mean that you are perfectly able to work your way out of the situation through your own choices too, which you can.

Secondly, once you have decided to change be aware that a decision has never been made until it has been acted on. If you decide to stop using your credit cards then chop them up, just saying you are not going to use them is not enough. Physically go ahead and take action.

Thirdly, it is always helpful to write down the goal of what you are actually trying to achieve. In this way you are being as clear as possible to yourself and others about what you are trying to achieve. When writing your goals make them realistic so that you can actually believe that you will achieve them. If you create an unrealistic goal the problem for most people is that they see the big void between where they are now and where they would like to be and they become fearful about not achieveing the goal. This fear then focuses their mind on the lack of what they want and not upon achieving the goal. It is no wonder then that a lot of people get what they do not want.

Fourthly, never compare what you have with another. Doing so can easily make you frustrated about your situation. Try to visualise yourself in the situation you want to be. For example, see yourself running around the park early in the morning with fresh air going through your lungs and not a cigarette in sight.

Finally, perseverance. If you want to give up OK no problem go ahead give up but remember there is very little else to do in life apart from create and live life, so wouldn't it be better to live it the way you want? If you want to change go ahead and change however if you are not really so interested then keep reading self-help books, listening to CDs and DVDs and wondering why things never actually improve for you because seriously they won't unless you make them. Take consistent purposeful action towards your goals and keep going. In fact Winston Churchill summed it up pretty well with:

"You create your own universe as you go along."

So why not start creating the things you want. You have the power to change your life, nobody else does!