You don’t need courage, inspiration, or a perfect plan to change your life.
You need a first step to set your goals in motion!
[Title Photo by Michael Zittel]
The Goal That Never Moved
Cam had a dream: he wanted to write a book. Not a vague “one day” dream; he knew the topic, had ideas for chapters, even pictured his name on the cover. He told friends about it. He bought a nice journal just for book notes. He printed motivational quotes and taped them to his desk.
A year later, he had…a whole notebook of ideas. Still no chapters. No pages. Not even a paragraph.
He wasn’t lazy. He wasn’t confused. And he really did want it.
He simply never set the goal in motion.
Cam waited to “feel ready.”
He waited for enough time, the right inspiration, a perfect plan.
But waiting is not motion.
One day, a friend asked him a simple question: “If you wrote just 200 words a day, about half a page, how long would it take to finish a draft?”
Cam did the math. Six months.
Not five years. Not “someday.” Six months.
That day, he wrote his first 200 words. The next day, he wrote 200 more. And that, more than the dream, the passion, or the inspiration, is what set his goal in motion.
Dreams don’t move until you do.
Why Goals Stall (and Why That’s Normal)
“Goals naturally contain friction and resistance because they require you to do something new.” ~ Mel Robbins
If you’ve ever set a goal and then not followed through, guess what? You’re a normal human being.
Goals feel exciting when we imagine the outcome…and overwhelming when we imagine the work.
We love the dream. We forget the motion. And motion is where everything changes.
A Goal Is Something That Won’t Happen Without You
A dream is something you want.
A goal is something you work toward.
A result is something you earn.
You can dream of being healthy, happy, organized, creative, wealthy, or fit. But nothing changes until action begins.
“A goal is something you want to achieve that won’t happen without you doing something.”
If you’ve ever had a goal that never got off the ground, here’s the good news: There is nothing wrong with you.
You don’t need more willpower, motivation, or inspiration. You need motion.
Why You Must Set Your Goals in Motion
“I have a firmly-held belief that it is better to do the wrong thing than nothing. Any action you take will lead you closer to your goal.” ~ Cathy Stucker
Action is not just helpful; it is essential.
Even messy, unpolished, imperfect action is better than planning forever.
- If your goal is a BIG (Bold-Important-Gratifying) one, you will not have a complete plan at the beginning.
- But your plan can help get you started.
- You learn by doing.
- You get a different perspective as you move.
- Momentum makes the next step easier than the first.
Standing still feels safe, but it also guarantees nothing happens. Motion creates clarity.
You don’t learn to swim by reading a book about water. You get in the pool, sputter a little, and figure it out.
The Hidden Truth About Action
You will rarely know the “right” path at the beginning.
Almost nobody does.
Most success stories start with:
- The wrong first step
- A half-formed idea
- A plan that changed a dozen times
You don’t need a perfect start.
You need a start.
Motion builds momentum. Momentum builds confidence. Confidence builds results.
How to Set Your Goals in Motion
Here is the Excelerated Goal Setting™ approach: Break it down. Make it doable. Start today. Adjust as needed.
1. Make the First Step Foolishly Easy
When getting started feels hard, the step is too big.
If your step requires courage, time, planning, or motivation, it’s not a first step; it’s Step 4 or 5 disguised as Step 1.
A good first step feels almost silly:
- Write 10 words
- Walk 5 minutes
- Read one page
- Clear one drawer
- Drink one glass of water
You are not trying to “finish the goal.”
You are becoming a person who takes action.
Why “Easy First Steps” Work: The Coffee Card Effect
Suppose your coffee shop offers a loyalty card: buy 10 cups, get one free.
Two groups of customers get cards. Group A gets a card with 10 empty spaces. Group B gets a card with 12 spaces, but 2 are already punched
Both groups still need to buy 10 cups. But Group B fills the card faster. Why? Because the brain sees progress already underway. [Berger]
The same is true for goals.
Start with a win already in place.
Your brain loves momentum.
So:
- Track what you’ve already done
- Count the attempts, not just the successes
- Notice every inch of progress
You make the next step easier by celebrating the one you just took.
2. Execute Your Plan (Don’t Just Keep Thinking About It)
A plan without action is decoration. Pretty, maybe. But useless.
- If you write it down, take action on it.
- If you schedule it, show up for it.
- If you promise yourself a change, follow through.
Don’t wait for the right mood, the right day, or the right burst of motivation. Motion creates motivation and not the other way around.
“Action is the antidote to procrastination.”
3. Make Daily Changes
Goals die in the gaps of everyday life. They don’t need giant leaps. They need tiny, daily adjustments.
- Change your routine
- Change your environment
- Change what you do in the first 10 minutes of your morning
- Change what you do in the last 10 minutes of your evening
If your goal matters, build your life so it becomes natural to work on it. Small changes outperform big bursts.
4. Focus on Progress, Not Busyness
Busy feels productive. Progress is productive.
Scrolling for “motivation” is busyness. Taking the smallest step toward your goal is progress.
Checking off 12 meaningless tasks is busyness. Completing 1 meaningful task is progress.
Ask yourself daily:
What tiny step gets me closer?
What makes me feel busy but changes nothing?
Make progress the measure – not effort, not exhaustion, not perfection.
5. Schedule Goal Time
If it isn’t scheduled, it’s optional.
If it’s optional, it will lose to distraction, fatigue, or “I’ll do it later.”
Schedule your goal like a meeting with someone you respect.
- Same time each day
- Small time blocks work
- Protect that appointment
You wouldn’t cancel a dentist appointment because you “didn’t feel inspired.” Don’t cancel on yourself.
6. Review and Adapt
Motion doesn’t guarantee accuracy. And that’s good news. You’re not expected to know everything at the start. So:
- Track your progress
- Evaluate what’s working
- Adjust what isn’t
- Keep moving
Forward is forward, even if the path curves.
Don’t wait for the perfect plan. Perfect grows out of progress.
The Stepladders Strategy: Turning Dreams Into Action
From the book Stick With It, we get a powerful framework that aligns beautifully with Excelerated Goal Setting™.
People often become discouraged because they focus too much on the dream and not enough on motion.
Dreams, Goals, and Steps
- Dreams inspire us, but focusing only on them makes people quit
- Goals are the bridge between dreams and steps
- Steps are the small actions that actually move you forward
Definitions That Matter
- Dreams = what you want long-term (not measurable)
- Long-term goals = something you can achieve in more than 3 months only if you’ve done it before
- Short-term goals = achievable within 1 week to 1 month
- Steps = tiny actions that take less than a week, often less than a day
“People needed to be reminded of their dreams to keep them motivated, but focusing entirely on dreams can lead people to give up.”
The solution: Focus on completing steps and short-term goals.
Dreams motivate. Steps produce progress.
Why Stepladders Work
When goals are huge, the brain gets overwhelmed. Small steps calm the brain and create forward motion.
- Steps are easy to start
- Steps are easy to track
- Steps create momentum
- Momentum reduces resistance
- Reduced resistance increases consistency
And consistency is what achieves dreams.
Stepladders Aren’t About Perfection. They’re About Staying On The Path.
If you stop, the goal stops. If you move, even slowly, the goal stays alive.
“Stepladders isn’t a formula for accomplishing dreams. It’s a formula for keeping you on a path.”
People who use Stepladders are:
- Less likely to quit
- More likely to keep trying
- More likely to reach their dreams
Not because they worked harder but because they kept moving.
Excelerated Goal Setting™ in Action
Here’s how the method works in real life.
Step 1: Identify the Dream
Example: “I want to write a book.”
That’s too big, too vague, and produces no motion.
Step 2: Turn the Dream Into a Goal
“I will complete a first draft.”
Better, but still overwhelming.
Step 3: Turn the Goal Into Steps
- Write 200 words a day
- One chapter a month
- 30 minutes of writing each morning
Now you have motion.
Another Example: Fitness
Dream: “I want to get healthy.”
Nice idea. No action.
Goal: “I will walk 100 miles this year.”
Better, but still long-term.
Steps:
- Walk 10 minutes after breakfast
- Put shoes by the door as a reminder
- Track distance on a calendar
Motion begins.
Environment Matters
Goal: Eat healthier
Step: Put fruit at eye level in the fridge
Step: Prep one healthy snack the night before
Step: Remove junk food from the desk drawer
Motion comes from atmosphere as much as motivation.
Build the Habit of Motion
- Attach steps to a routine (after coffee, before bed, on lunch break)
- Shrink steps on bad days (minihabits style), don’t skip them
- Reward effort as well as outcome
Five minutes count.
One paragraph counts.
One healthy choice counts.
It all counts.
The Real Secret: Focus on the Process, Not the Finish Line
When the result is all you focus on, you feel defeated until you’re done.
When the process becomes the goal, you win every time you show up.
- The reward is the practice
- The practice builds the identity
- The identity produces the result
You become:
- A walker because you walk
- A writer because you write
- Organized because you take small organizing steps
- Healthy because you make healthy choices
The result appears because the process becomes part of who you are.
A Simple Challenge to Begin Today
Choose one dream.
Turn it into a goal.
Turn that goal into one step you can finish in 10 minutes or less.
Do it today.
Not perfectly.
Not permanently.
Just once.
Tomorrow, do it again.
That’s motion.
Motion becomes momentum.
Momentum becomes change.
And change – small, steady, undeniable – is how dreams become real.
You don’t need courage, inspiration, or a perfect plan to change your life.
You need a first step.
Set your goals in motion.
Start small, start messy, but start today
For that’s how you embrace your Excelerated Life™!
What’s your dream, your BIG (Bold-Important-Gratifying) goal?
What is the first tiny step you can do today?
Share your comments by leaving a post below.
Excelerated Goal Setting™ — planning and achieving BIG (Bold, Important, Gratifying) goals — is one practice for creating your Excelerated Life™, a life of flourishing and well-being, and a life of meaning, purpose, and service.
Read more about the Excelerated Life™.
Resources:
Berger, Jonah. The Catalyst: How to Change Anyone’s Mind. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2020.
Guise, Stephen. Mini Habits: Smaller Habits, Bigger Results. CreateSpace Publishing. 2013.
Robbins, Mel. “Goal Setting Toolkit: Why Behavior Change Often Fails & How to Set the Right Goals for You.” Mel Robbins. Mel Robbins,. Web. October 25, 2025.
https://www.melrobbins.com/episode/episode-29/
Young, Sean D. Stick With It. New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 2017.
This blog post includes research information provided by ChatGPT, an AI language model developed by OpenAI. The content was generated with AI assistance and is intended to provide information and guidance. Please note that the suggestions are not official statements from OpenAI. To learn more about ChatGPT and its capabilities, you can visit the OpenAI website.