I may have never been as motivated to reach my goals in life than I was at the beginning of 2017. I was jazzed about setting goals and even more hyped when I reached some of them. Don’t get me wrong, I usually like to think over my New Year’s Resolutions and commit to them briefly, but let me tell you, last year things were different.

I’m all about seeking out opportunities to take your dreams to the next level, whether it be getting out of debt so you can buy that house, losing weight and getting in shape, learning a new skill that will propel you into a new career, All Of IT.

So here are a few tips to get you started on your goal journey before any of the hard work begins.

1. Hone in on a Goal

I’m going to assume if you’re trying to reach your goals that you’ve actually picked one to reach. It seems silly to even bring this first point up, but maybe it’s not so strange. It’s way too easy to be flippant about selecting a goal. “Yeah, I’ll eat healthier, sure,” but then Pizza Hut rounds out the week and you’ve blown it by tearing down a half pie and order of small wings.

Don’t let your goal planning mirror your grocery list strategy, meaning, don’t let it be as simple as browsing quickly through the cupboards to see what you don’t have and then scribble it on a piece of paper without much thought other than that item is missing from your life. Box out an hour of your day, grab a notebook and actually spend time combing through your life to find what you can improve. And yes, write it down. Be intentional in the first phase, and you’ll find when you take action, you are more likely to stick with it.

2. Look to the future

These first three steps are preliminary. We’re just doing some psyche work here initially. It’s really important when picking a goal to look to the future. Look a year down the road, or two, even five. Where do you want to be in your finances, your health, your spiritual walk? What has to be done today in order to accomplish what you desire this time next year? What does the line look like that connects the you of today and the you of 2020?

In an example I’ll share below, I mention about wanting a house. I knew that in a certain timeframe I would want to purchase our first home. But what was stopping me from signing those papers? Debt. So my introductory goal was to pay off my debt as quickly as possible to reach my long-term goal of owning an (eventually) paid for homestead.

3. Induce Nerves

Okay, maybe that’s a bit extreme. Please, please, Don’t do this! What I’m really saying is realize how much you’re missing out on by not reaching your goal and allow it to make you uncomfortable. When your body starts to overheat and your palms are a little sweaty and tingling, it usually means you’re nervous, unless there is something else medically going on in which case it should be checked out. When something makes you nervous or gives you anxiety, isn’t it natural for you to relieve those feelings? I’m not suggesting anxiety is a good thing, absolutely not, but feeling like you’ll be missing out might be the catalyst that pushes you to reach your goal.

Example: To piggy off of the above example, early on in our marriage we were apartment living, like we are currently, and I had a terrifying thought. Someday, like soon, I want to own a home, and the amount of debt sitting between me and that beautiful white plantation home nested on three acres with the driveway lined with giant oaks was overwhelming. It sent me into freak-out mode initially, then spastic mode, then finally determined like a bulldog mode.

Being scared of something can actually help. Fear is typically the reason people fail to keep going. Don’t allow that to stop you, get after it and do something about the scenarios that are scaring the crap out of you.

If you’re looking to improve an area of your life, take some time to mull over the three points above, determine why you want to reach a goal in the first place, and prepare yourself. Setting goals isn’t easy, because if it was, you’d never need to do it. Wouldn’t you pound out goals like devouring potato chips if it was a simple process with zero pain? The pain may come in different forms, and I’m not promising that the goal journey is effortless, but it’ll be so worth it in the end.