Like the worn out, old expression says, “Today is the first day of the rest of your life.” Unlike the worn out expression, today is the first day you can get started on your goals for now and the rest of your life. That makes things a little more compelling, doesn’t it?

Can you store up happiness? Can you pluck moments of happiness from your life here and there, and put them in a bottle, or in the freezer, to be withdrawn some time in the future, when you want to be happy?

No, no, a thousand times no.

To be happy is to be happy now, in the present. When the future arrives, you will either be happy or you won’t; you’ll know on that day, in that present. Many of the goals you wish to reach are best set now. You have a lot of things to do now and you certainly intend to get started on some goals next week, and next month. Consider however, those goals that make the most sense to initiate this moment.

It All Starts Tomorrow

Suppose you want to lose the proverbial 10 pounds, and you tried to do this many times in the past. “Let’s see, I’ll eat a big bag of chips today, some ice cream, and some heavily fatted meats because, after all, I’m starting on my diet tomorrow.”

You laugh, and yet that is the mind-set by which so many people proceed on weight-related or other goals. They behave in ways contrary to the accomplishment of their goal, because after all, they haven’t “officially started.”

The official start time for many of your goals is now. It’s now because the behavior in which you need to engage isn’t going to change 180 degrees at the stroke of midnight.

The Mindset of a Goal Achiever

To begin watching your diet, moderate your calorie intake, eat more healthy foods, take vitamins, engage in regular exercise and so on, above and beyond your lists, charts, and time lines requires a proper mind-set. Suppose I told you I have $1,500 in a savings account, and my goal was to get that account up to $10,000 within six months. I am, however, going to start tomorrow. So, for today, I can spend everything in the account. After all, I have a full six months to get the account to $10,000.

What would you think if this is the way I proceeded in pursuit of this goal? Foolhardy, you say? Why deplete the balance you already have? Good question. In fact, it’s the same question you might ask of someone who is going to go on a diet “tomorrow.” Why add to your burden by stuffing yourself with calories today? You’re only making your burden that much more difficult.

If you’re serious about reaching any of your short-term goals, those that you wish to accomplish in a year or less, and similarly are as focused on some of your longer term goals, there’s no way of getting around this: You begin to engage in goal supporting behaviors and activities in the present.

Action Speaks the Loudest

Action does indeed speak louder than words. What do you tell your inner being when you stuff yourself with calories, or deplete your savings account, all because you’re going to “get started tomorrow,” when such actions are contrary to your long-term pursuits?

I’m not asking you to abstain from consuming calories today.

• Indeed you may choose to eat a few chips, a spoonful or two of ice cream, and a half the portion of fatty meat you had intended to devour.
• Perhaps there’s a critical purchase I need to make with some of the funds in the account which I choose to have grow to $10,000 within six months.

There are powerful gestures, however, that you can engage in that will deliver a message to every fiber of your being that you intend to pursue this goal with vigor. If your goal is to reduce your weight by ten pounds (and remember, the most appropriate wording is to have a more trim, healthful appearance) go to your refrigerator right now, take out the ice cream, and wash it down the sink. Throw out the box of chocolate chip cookies, or better yet, if the pack is unopened, drop it off at a shelter for the homeless.

If you intend to quit smoking, which most appropriately worded is to have clear, clean, healthy lungs — round up all the cigarettes in your household and throw them out. Don’t bother donating them to anyone else.

You know what? I think I’ll deposit another $250 in savings.

To What Are You Committed?

After all is said and done, much more is said than ever done. Are you committed to the goals you have set for yourself? Do you intend to reach them? By stripping your kitchen of fat or sugar laden foods, or chucking all of your cigarettes on the spot, you demonstrate commitment, albeit relatively small measures in the grand scheme of things. Yet, this kind of action is as powerful a gesture as any, when added to another and yet another and another.

Do you have the fortitude to put down this article right now, go to the kitchen, and throw out the rest of the ice cream? This is not a test. This is your life. Either get up and do it right now. Or, perhaps think about who else you could give this article to — someone who’ll actually read and follow the advice.

Groovin’ on a Sunday Afternoon

While you’re in the groove, what other action can you take right now, around the house, to signify your commitment to the goals you’ve set for yourself?

* Has too many hours with the TV on proved to be a bane? Do you have the mental and emotional strength right now to pull the TV plug out of the wall, then, get a pair of scissors, and snip the end so you can’t plug it back in?

* Is there a pile of stuff stacking up that you’re never going to deal with for which you can muster the fortitude to simply throw away en masse?

* Are there clothes in your closet that you never want to wear again because they represent the old you and you need to make space for the new you? If so, there are plenty of charitable organizations that would appreciate the donation.

Commit and Prosper

It all comes down to whether or not you’re committed to your goals. You need to do more than put them on paper — commit at the highest level of your cognitive capabilities. If you do so, you’ll take action consistent with reaching them, independent of whether you’re formally starting today or not.

If you discover — via your unwillingness to take action — that you’re not committed to one or more of the goals you’ve set for yourself, park that goal for now. Do not make it a part of your activities. Why? If you’ve set some goals but actually have no intention of reaching them, you run the risk of dampening your progress on yet other goals.

You and I both know people who have these well crafted lists of goals they intend to pursue that seem to just linger on, for an indefinite period. It is fine to have dreams, but if you want to convert dreams to goals, you need to pick ones that are challenging but reachable, quantifiable, and achiveable within specific time lines.

Archive It and move On

If one or more of your goals keeps making your list, but you haven’t taken step one, put it on a 50 or 100 things to do in your life roster. Then, at least you won’t forget it, nor feel guilty for not having taken any action on it. In either case, get it off of your current goals list, because the goals on this are there with a commitment.