How to stop a moving target
Create momentum to reach your goals
What Are You Aiming at ?
Motivational speaker Zig Ziglar once said , “ If you aim at nothing , you will hit it every time .” And each of us knows from our own experience that he is right . Normal flow of life tends to be toward ease and comfort . One day flows into the next , with many of us never getting around to turning our good intentions into reality .
Those ‘ good intentions ,’ while no doubt admirable , tend to remain unrealized mainly because they are too vague . Vague ideas are impossible to focus on and aim for ; they are moving targets .
Do you have moving targets in your life ? Perhaps you want to eat healthier or lose the winter weight that has tip-toed upon you . Maybe you just want to establish a workout routine and stick with it this time .
The keys to your success are two-fold : steady the target and create momentum .
How to stop a moving target
Imagine a target shooter attempting to hit a small bull ’ s eye on a distant target . She begins to aim , but then the target suddenly moves to the right , and before she can position herself to aim again , the target darts to the left . Will she ever hit that target ? Not likely .
Without setting specific goals , your good intentions are exactly like that moving target . You ’ d like to lose weight , feel a little better , make a change in your diet--but without clearly defined goals and methods , you can ’ t focus and make it happen .
The way to steady the target so you can finally hit the bull ’ s eye is to define your goals and write them down :
� How much weight do you want to lose ? � What kind of changes do you want to make in your diet ? � How many days per week do you want to exercise ? � Which article of clothing do you wish would fit your body again ? � How much weight would you like to lift while strength training ?
Once you know where you want to end up , you are much more likely to get there . But you have to start moving toward your goals . That is where momentum comes in .
Create momentum to reach your goals
In his book , Eat that Frog , Brian Tracy discusses the Momentum Principle of Success . In Tracy ’ s words :
“ This principle says that although it may take tremendous amounts of energy to overcome inertia and get started initially , it then takes far less energy to keep going .” 1