Do wish you could lose 30 pounds? Maybe you wish you could get out of debt. Whatever your wish is, Dr. Robin says it is one thing to want to do something—and something else entirely to do the work to make it happen. "As long as you make excuses—as long as you can defend that your behavior is acceptable—you are, in all likelihood, going to stay just where you are," Dr. Robin says.
Holding yourself accountable and practicing the kind of behavior you need to meet your goal every day is something that Dr. Robin says you need to do in order to leave old and bad habits behind. "[Your goal] will go from being something you wished you'd done to something you have accomplished," she says.
You can take small steps towards your goals, Dr. Robin says. If you want to get a college degree, you don't have to enroll in school full time. "Sign up for one class and if you [only] take one class a semester, one class a year—at some point, if you live long enough, you will end up with that degree," she says. You have the power to accomplish your goals, Dr. Robin says, but you just need to quit hoping that your dreams will come true and take action and make them come true.
