Once you have a solid understanding of your goals and of how to bring about their achievement, and you have begun the process, you then face another challenge: following through.

Many people make a good start but get distracted or just give up, and never get where they wanted to go. Some really never intended to put in the necessary work, others may just need to adopt the mantra: Slow and steady wins the race.

When starting out, choose microgoals big enough to show some progress, but small enough that you know you can handle them. This way you can build habits. After a while, when you get used to the process of defining goals, breaking them down, prioritizing them, and attacking them one microgoal at a time, you can try at more ambitious goals.

Do a little every day. Keep writing down your goals, go over them, keep them in mind. Constantly visualize them being completed, big and small. Give yourself plenty of credit for each step, remembering your successes and drawing strength from them.

If you have lapses, don't waste any energy at all beating yourself up for them. Put them behind you and tell yourself that only one thing matters: not giving up. No matter how badly you may have performed recently, as long as you start again, you have not given up and all is well.

Finally, enjoy yourself!  Accomplishing big things is hard work, but it is also exciting and fun. Allow yourself to have a relaxed attitude. Be confident that you are doing what you should, things are working as they should, and that your results are coming.

Life is always changing, and your goals change along the way as well; since you will always be going somewhere, you need to be able to enjoy the trip. This will keep you from burning out along the way, and perhaps even more importantly, when you succeed, it will make your successes meaningful.

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