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Start on your goals today, NOT tomorrow

If you're dead set on achieving something -- whether it's to lose weight, get a promotion, or find a partner -- putting it off until tomorrow won't get you any closer to your goal. Start today!

Waiting until tomorrow -- or next week, or next month -- only increases the likelihood that you won't get around to achieving that goal. Either that, or your heart and mind truly aren't as invested in it as you may think.

Procrastination is anathema to progress and results. Why not begin working toward achieving your goal sooner than later? The earlier you start, the quicker to the finish line, and the less of a load you'll have to worry about later on.

For example, let's say part of your diet includes hitting the gym three times a week. If you schedule your workouts for the early part of the week -- say, Monday through Thursday -- that leaves the weekend for other items on your to-do list, from bills to laundry.

Human beings are especially reluctant to do things when they don't see immediate rewards for their hard work. Losing weight takes time, patience, and sacrifice. Many people are quick to put the gym on the back burner, reasoning that they leave work feeling tired and would rather go home and plop on the couch. Still, they tell other people that they'll go "one of these days."

Breaking through this seemingly impregnable wall of resistance that we build for ourselves is difficult, but not impossible. Unfortunately, this habit of leaving things for later often leads to wasted time and loss of hope.

Here's the trick I want you to take away from this post and keep seared in memory: When you want to achieve something, get right to work without giving yourself even the slightest window of opportunity to rethink it. Once those thoughts of doing it tomorrow creep in, it becomes harder to get in a groove.

A task becomes much easier to tackle once we've gotten through the hard part -- the beginning -- and thus feel invested in it. Writing a book doesn't seem as much of a chore once you've written the introduction and first chapter. Losing ten pounds isn't as much of a drag once you've lost a pound or two.

Once we begin seeing progress, we become absorbed in the process and thus feel more motivated to see it through to completion.

Remember this: Starting today means being one step closer to your ultimate goal. If you're used to putting things off and frustrated that you never quite seem to accomplish your goals, I want you to kick the habit as of today. I guarantee you'll get much better results once you commit yourself to starting sooner.

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