What if this didn't work and you're not emotionally excited - what if you didn't create a 'Burning Desire'. Your current goal has reverted back to a wish, a want, a dream or a hope. At this stage you have a few options. First, you should go back to step #1 and try this exercise again. Often during first attempts, you may not have put enough time or energy into process. Right now is time to change for better - take a positive action step and give it another chance. Second, if you've tried this exercise or other techniques and still can't seem to create a 'Burning Desire', than you may need to pick another goal, abandon goal or change goal. Changing goal is not giving up; changing goal is often one of best ways to get yourself re-energized, motivated and excited about moving forward.

By taking these 5 steps to create a 'Burning Desire' for each one of your goals (large or small), you will make your goals much more attainable, you will start to consistently meet more of your goals and you will have more fun along path to success. This technique can be used in other areas of your life such as your business (career), your personal finances and your relationships. Other chapters in this book will provide details on how to use this technique in other areas of your life.

Author's Personal Note:  I have successfully used this technique in area of weight loss and have lost 10 lbs (in 45 days), reduced my body fat by 3% and dropped from a 35- inch waist to a 32-inch waist. What was my 'Burning Desire'? I had about seven of them, but two created most passion and drive.

First, was when my youngest son commented about how big my stomach was getting and that I looked out of shape. This comment was my negative reason that drove me to make a change. If I didn't attain this goal, I would continue to hear these comments . Second, I had a closet full of size 32 pants and was ready to go out a buy more tight-fitting 34 size pants. Since I personally don't like (despise) spending money on clothes, I created a visualization of all money I would save by not having to buy another 3-4 pairs of pants. If I did attain this goal, I would have another $150 to do what I love most - invest.

My personal visualization for first reason was a flat stomach instead of love handles and no 'fat' comments from my son. My visualization for second reason was seeing $150 invested in 3 shares of a blue chip stock on my portfolio statement, instead of pants hanging in my closet. While my personal visualizations might not get you motivated, these visualizations created enough push, motivation and drive for me to change my dietary habits and eat right (not necessarily less) and exercise more often. Remember, each of you will have your own personal visualizations that will get you to take action.

It was first time in my 40+ years that I've ever wanted to lose weight and while it was difficult to make these dietary and exercise changes; I sacrificed my short-term immediate gratification needs for benefit and success of my long-term weight loss goal. Not only did I receive gratification from meeting my weight loss goal, but I received even more gratification by knowing that I could make appropriate day-to-day choices to minimize my short-term immediate gratification needs to meet a long-term, more gratifying goal. It was worth efforts.

It's time for You to take Action!
What are you going to do right now to take one positive action step towards meeting one of your personal goals? To get momentum moving in your favor, you need to take immediate action. After reading this article, take next 30 minutes to complete this 5-step process for one of your goals? You don't have 30 minutes, take 5 minutes to start process. The key is to take Action. You owe it to yourself to be successful and one key component for making your personal goals attainable, is to create your own personal 'Burning Desire'. Start it now!

4. I want to add some exercise. I'll achieve this by doing some research at library or on Internet about what I might enjoy, then perhaps get a free pass to my closest gym, talk to friends, borrow exercise tapes. Consider hiking. Find exercises I can do in front of TV at first, or on floor in my bedroom when I first get up. Whatever works.

I'm willing to experiment until you find what works best. I don't care if other people see me getting started. I'll start slowly, then add more after first few weeks, when I'm ready.

Finally, close your eyes and imagine carrying out your plan. If you chose getting up an hour earlier, see yourself doing it. Does it fit? Are you a night person? If so, an early morning workout probably won't pan out -- stick to midday or evening workouts. Find what fits for you. Can you really see yourself doing what you've chosen, regularly? If not, adjust, find something you will do regularly. It's consistency that gets results.

STEP 5: Set Up Plan A And Determine What You Need To Get Started

Plan A:

1) I need a small notebook I can carry with me for keeping track of what and when I eat (only needed short-term to get an idea of what I'm eating now and where I might make small changes).

2) Need monthly calendar to track my exercise minutes, even if it's only 10 minutes this month and 20 next, that's progress. You are after progress, not perfection. There is no such thing as perfection.

3) Visit library or order book online for using bodyweight for exercises. Pushups, crunches, etc., can be done without any extra equipment.

4) Buy healthy foods to have on hand such as fruits, cut up vegetables. Visit different grocery stores and markets to see what's there I hadn't noticed. Make dinner at least twice a week and freeze leftovers into ready-to-eat frozen meals.

5) Purchase or order supplements, protein powders, videos, etc., if I want them.

Putting It All Together

Start working your plan. Don't wait for next full-moon or some other arbitrary starting date. Just get started. The sooner you start, sooner you begin to see results.

If you use EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique), do it at least three times a day. It only takes a couple of minutes and you can do it while you do other things, so get it done. Check in with your list of behaviors you'd like to change, and then work on one issue each week or until it becomes a non-issue, then move to next.

You might start with frustration that things aren't happening fast enough, since this is a common early annoyance and one that drives many people right back to couch:

Example EFT statements:

"Even though I'm frustrated by all these instructions, I deeply and completely accept myself."

"Even though I don't want it to take so much effort, I deeply and completely accept myself"

"Even though I hate all this and just want to wake up skinny, I deeply and completely accept myself."

No matter what, if you are putting attention on this process, then you are making progress. It doesn't matter if you keep to your plan exactly. What does matter is that you make a plan at all.

If you make a small effort every day you'll find that some days will be better than others, and that's okay. It's easy to forget, and fall back into our usual patterns which is why keeping a notebook handy helps keep you on track. So does scheduling your workout time just like you would any appointment, and then keeping it.

The goal isn't to be perfect -- it's to take action.

You can use a grading system, such as one point for achieving each item on your list, and tallying points at end of week. You could also color in squares on calendar, so when you achieve what you planned, you color it in, but if you didn't achieve what you planned, you don't color it in, or different shades of color. That way you can see at a glance how often calendar is colored, how many squares are missing, etc. You can also see as months go by how you are improving.

If you exercise five days this month, then 10 next, and 20 after that, you're improving. You're getting fit, and weight will be coming off. Having a visual display of your progress can help keep you on track. Remember, expect to be human (less than perfect) and you won't be disappointed.

If you believe you must have a strict plan, that's okay, as long as you're aware that a slip from time-to-time is not end of it. Slips are nothing more than a learning experience, then you go ahead to see if you can prove me wrong. That would be great if you never slipped. Just no matter what, no matter if it's been a week since you did anything on your list, it does not matter; just pick up where you left off and start again. Slowly you'll falter less and succeed more.

The goal is to build strength and fitness into your daily life. Better to go about it slowly and achieve small successes than to jump in with all your heart and never come back for day two.

Small Changes Equal Big Results

There are 365 days in a year. If you achieved your goals on 200 of them this year wouldn't that be an improvement over last year? As you improve, your weight will fall. That's how it works. That's why people who achieve their best weight and maintain it have learned how to stay "on plan" more often than "off plan." Eventually you don't really think of it as a plan at all but just how you are. It becomes your new way of life.

Use these five steps to get started on a plan, right now. Start by getting a small notebook, then starting writing down th days of week, thinking about your schedule and how you'll make some changes to your routine. After all, it's your present routine that isn't working, so you must make some changes. Make them fit, and then you'll fit into those small jeans in no time.

Kathryn Martyn, Master NLP Practitioner, author of the free e-book: Changing Beliefs, Your First Step to Permanent Weight Loss, and owner of http://www.OneMoreBite-Weightloss.com