Are you still daydreaming about the goals you had set for yourself, but still have not achieved yet? So you start to daydream about what it would be like IF you really had achieved the goals you had hoped for.

Is it FEAR of the unknown? Fear of Failure? Fear of Change? Fear of Success?

Don't laugh...these are real fears that a lot of people have to overcome to move forward. This is not the same type of fear that you get when you're scared...You know, sweaty palms, shaky knees, goose bumps, etc. No, this fear stalls you in your tracks while you're trying to reach the goals you have envisioned for yourself.

So you ask yourself..."self, why can't I move forward and reach my goals?" Mainly, because of the BIG GORILLA in the room-FEAR, in one form or the other. It sneaks up on you and stalls you cold.

You've heard of PROCRASTINATION? This is actually another fear that can totally shut you down as you never quite move forward on anything. If you repeatedly do this it actually becomes a habit and it's very hard to break.

Perfectionism is another example of fear. You never finish anything because you feel that it's not quite right or good enough and it becomes a problem that can also shut you down. Have you ever felt overwhelmed when doing something and so you just don't start. This is a very common fear that you need to address and get over or you won't be able to move forward.

Be especially careful about perfectionism because this one can cause you to read endlessly and educate yourself, but then you fail to take action so the process of reaching a goal or goals you wanted for yourself just stops.

Doing busy work all day long, but not accomplishing anything, is yet another form of fear. You seemingly work hard, but unfortunately not toward any of your goals.

One of the best ways I've found for overcoming some of these "fears" is to just TAKE ACTION. It's amazing how simply taking some action gets you moving in the right direction and closer to those elusive goals you wanted for yourself. I've found once you get some momentum going, in the right direction, those fears you had start to diminish. Soon your fears subside and your ENTHUSIASM takes over.

However, none of this will mean anything if you start taking action that is the wrong kind. By that I mean 1.) You need to choose a goal that is very clear and that can be measured. If it isn't clear and can't be measured you're not going to know that the direction you're moving is correct. 2.) You need to create a "road map" as you would if you were going for a walk or drive, so you know where you are going and where you should end up.

I hope this short article gets you thinking about how to improve you existence and starts you thinking about really living. When you are reaching your goals you will find yourself feeling alive as you now have a purpose about you and you know where you're going.

Patrick Brennan