Setting goals is easy, we all do it all the time. Achieving those goals is where we all have trouble.

So, since the achievement is the ultimate goal, how can we help ourselves be successful? Throughout this article Ive used what may be the most common goal any of us set: losing weight. Dont let that fool you into thinking that this advice applies only to personal, unimportant, or frivolous goals. It doesnt. It works for any and all goals: business goals, education goals, retirement goals. Try it. You may find it works for you too.

Step 1 is to write that goal down. I will lose 10 lbs by the end of a 3 month period.

I would say that, when we set a goal, we should imagine how that success will feel, what positive results we will get, what success will look like. If you set a goal to lose weight, you know that youll feel proud of yourself, youll feel healthy, and you will probably want to convince a friend to follow the plan. The positive results will include stepping, maybe jumping, onto your scale; shopping for clothes in a smaller size; taking clothes out of storage because you havent been able to wear them for a year or two. Cut out a picture of a new suit from a magazine, and hang in on your computer monitor. Thats what success looks like.

Step 2 is to write all those positive results underneath the goal.

Now, identify the consequences of NOT achieving that success. How will you feel? Disappointed in yourself? Depressed? Mad at yourself? What will the negative results be? Putting that scale back in the closet? Gaining more weight? Buying LARGER clothes? And what will you look like? Take a picture of yourself and hang that next to your SUCCESS picture.

Step 3 is to capture those bad thoughts on paper too.

If youve set a smart goal (see the article entitled S.M.A.R.T. Goals), you have time-stamped the goal, so you know how long you have to achieve your goal, you know how youll measure your progress. The things you need to identify next are the obstacles that will get in your way.

Steps 4 thru 10, 20, or 30 are to write down each obstacle as you identify it. Dont forget to include how you are planning to overcome them.

Are you tempted to eat those cookies in the cabinet that are meant for your kids? Get rid of them! Buy the cookies you hate, but your kids like. Better yet, dont buy any. Your kids wont starve (you could rely on their friends mothers for cookies for a week or two until you have developed some will power).

Do you diet all day, and then eat everything in sight as soon as you walk into the house at night, instead of taking the time to prepare a healthy meal? Maybe you can keep some apples, carrot sticks, or 5 or 6 almonds (dont trust yourself to use restraint, count them out in the morning before you leave, and leave them on the counter). You can munch on that snack while you prepare that healthy well-balanced meal.

Do you eat too much, or eat the wrong things, when you go out with your friends? Ask your friends to support your efforts and avoid places where you cannot get a good meal; divide your serving into two as soon as it arrives, and ask for a doggie bag to take the rest home for the next night.

Do you weigh yourself every day and get discouraged and quit? Do you avoid the scale altogether, and so you get no reward when you have lost a pound or two? Do you hate to exercise? If you are serious about losing some weight, youll be able to come up with a solution.

Identify as many obstacles as you can; figure out how you can get over those obstacles; go forward with your plan.

If you hit an obstacle that you hadnt thought about, take the time to work out what youll do. Obstacles dont just fade away. They come back over and over. You must figure out what youll do the next time you encounter that very same obstacle.

If you do these things your success rate should soar. Once that happens, youll be spreading the word: Setting Goals is Easy; Achieving them is Easy too.