1. Focus on “who”, not “what”. If you find that you’ve been stuck in a goal for a while, try restating it in “who” terms instead of what. For example, instead of saying “I want to lose 10 lbs.”, say “I want to be someone who is at a healthier weight for my age.” Instead of “I want to spend time with my kids”, say “I want to be someone who is a devoted parent.” Then ask yourself what actions would be fit with your desire to “be” instead of “get”.

2. Control-ability. Get clear on what you can really control and what is out of your control. You can’t control world politics, but you can vote. You can’t control terrorism, but you can be prepared in your own home. You can’t control construction crews on freeway, but you can control how much time you allot for a trip. Knowing what you can control and exercising that, and letting go of what you can’t, reduces stress related feelings immensely.

3. Be Generous. You know you haven’t worn that shirt in 2 years. Someone needs that shirt to keep warm on streets this winter, don’t let it just sit idle in your closet. Live from abundance, not lack. You’ll have other shirts. Share. Feel good about yourself for helping others less fortunate.

4. Give it a home. The biggest culprit for chronically lost items in home or office -- keys, remote, phone, scissors, batteries -- are that they don’t have a home. Just like teenagers, if you know where they are going to be, you don't have to waste time looking for them!

5. Establish routines. While they sound boring and confining, routines are actually freeing. Instead of being worried and anxious on Monday morning wondering if your credit-card bill is late again, you’ll feel calm knowing that you always pay bills on Wed. evening, so you have nothing to be concerned about. Routines take stress out!

Success is most desired ambition of human beings. Every one of us wants to be successful. But only few endeavor towards that purpose consciously whereas others rely on luck and chance to achieve their goals.

The best example in this case is someone who wants to get rich but only has one alternative: playing Lotto. Of course, there are chances of becoming rich over night, but how likely is it that this will actually happen?

Creating a realistic plan in order to achieve desired results is vital in any case, no matter how high or low your ambitions are set and how high or low your hopes are.

The safest way to do this is by taking successive steps and gradually increasing your chances of reaching your ideal. The safest and surest.

Try to think of a metaphor and compare your desires with a professional swimming competition.

The first thing you need to do, in order to have chances of winning race, is to make sure you are not afraid of water. Before you even consider entering race you have to eliminate your fears. They are ones holding you back. But be careful! Some of your fears might save you from getting hurt or failing.

Once you are convinced that your goal is worth fighting for, you have to start hardest stage in you plan: preparation.