Reaching Beyond Your Comfort Zone
By Mark Webb

"Dream no small dreams for they have no power to move the hearts of men."

~Goethe

Would you like to achieve your New Year's Resolution for once? Each year you set them and soon thereafter you set them aside. Here are the "How To's" for keeping yourself motivated and focused so that you see your goals become a reality:

Develop An Unwavering Commitment. "I Will Do This No Matter What!" Use your hard headedness to your advantage. If you want to change your life, you must raise your standards. Demand more of yourself than anyone else does. Make no excuses. Refuse to quit. A half-hearted decision will sputter into a failed attempt but a firm decision will propel you to a greater level of being. Change starts the moment you make a decision. What decisions do you need to make? Decision gives you direction. People who have direction accomplish more in all areas of their life. When you set a goal and start controlling your time, things begin to happen. Repeat this statement often, "If it is to be, it is up to me!"

You Have To See It! Visualization is essential to your success. Use the power of your imagination. You daydream anyway so why don't you fill your mind with visions of yourself and your life the way you would like them to be. See yourself in the position that you have always wanted. See your spouse madly in love with you. See your children having true respect for you and what you represent. See yourself as making a positive difference to our community, our nation and/or the world. You are only limited by your imagination. Think bigger. Don't psyche yourself out; psyche yourself up! Success always begins in the mind of the beholder.

What Would A Champion Do? You can use whatever title you want, great husband or wife, winner, positive person; I like the world, champion, for where I am in my life right now. As I strive to achieve my 4th Degree Black Belt in Taekwando, I often ask, "What would a champion do?" when I feel like sleeping in. This question leads to, "He'd get out of bed and do his sit-ups." And I do because this question motivates me and directs me. I believe that a huge key to success in life is "Be Willing To Do What Most People Won't Do."

I asked my Taekwando instructor, 5th Degree Black Belt, Mitchell Church of Performance Martial Arts in Valdosta for some of his favorite motivational quotes that he uses to train champions. Five of them are:

v The only person that can defeat you is yourself

v It's not how many times you get knocked down but how many times you get back up that count.

v The three keys to success are: Discipline, Discipline and Discipline.

v If you feel like quitting, do one more.

v When it's crunch time, you find out who you truly are. Don't wimp out!

Just Show Up And Then Keep Moving. This is one of my favorite secrets to success. Most people think about their desires and goals but they won't even take the first step. I've learned that if you will just show up you will start the necessary momentum. Show up at the gym. Show up at church. Show up at the university. Tell the people at these places what you want to see happen. Let them help you and guide you and then just keep coming back. Success comes when you refuse to quit. These small steps will transform you from where you are to the person you want to be. Don't worry about whether or not it's going to be difficult. Challenging times can introduce you to a greater level of yourself. Change your approach but not your decision to get there. Don't Give Up. Just keep moving success is often a matter of simply hanging on after everyone else has let go.

Success Leaves Clues. Look for others who have accomplished the results you want. Find out what they did and then do the same things or something close to it. Surround yourself with goal oriented people. Avoid complacent people as much as possible. They can be dream stealers. They won't challenge you to be your best and if you are not careful you will start to compare yourself to them. You will start believing that as long as you are doing better than they are, then you are successful. This is a lie. The status of being successful is only granted to you if you become the best that you can be. You are capable of more than you realize. Give your goals your best effort.

Don't wait until you feel like doing the task before you. Take action towards it and the feelings will come. If it is hard then do it hard. The price of success is much lower than the price of doing nothing at all. Always place something in front of yourself to strive for. Fill your mind with dreams, big dreams. When you stop dreaming, you start to grow old. And while you are at it, if you see someone else trying to achieve their goal, give them a word of encouragement. Be an inspiration to others and they in turn will be an inspiration for you.

Mark Webb is the author of How To Be A Great Partner and founder of Partner Focused Relationships™. Sign up for Mark Webb's "Relationship Strategies" Ezine ($100 Value). Just visit his website at http://www.powerfulrelationshipadvice.com or http://www.therelationshipspecialist.com

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