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  • Today I'm going to tell you a story that might sound familiar to you.

  • Jack and Jill went up the hill to get a pail of water.

  • Jack felt down and broke his crown and sued the owner of the hill, and his personal injury

  • attorney got him a big settlementoh wait, wrong story.

  • Okay, here we go.

  • Meet Nancy.

  • Lately Nancy has been feeling generally unhappy with life; there seems to be all these things

  • she wants, but they're just not happening for her.

  • She wants that promotion at work.

  • She wants to eat healthier.

  • She wants to go to the gym more.

  • She wants more energy.

  • Things that we all want!

  • The list seems overwhelming to Nancy, though.

  • She begins to feel kinda bad about herself, and starts overeating, having anxiety, and

  • laying awake at night thinking about all these things that seem so out of reach.

  • There goes the healthy eating and energy, she thinks.

  • Nancy becomes grumpy and mopey, and dopey and doc, and all the other dwarves -- and

  • takes it out on some of her friends, family, and co-workers.

  • There goes the promotion, she says to herself.

  • Now Nancy feels even worse, like she's in a vicious cycle she'll never get out of.

  • But you know what?

  • One day Nancy realized that enough was enough, and decided to make a change.

  • She wrote down all her goals, and even began to get excited, feeling a burst of energy

  • that she hadn't felt in a long time!

  • Nancy decided to jump in with both feet, and meet all of her goals at once with her newfound

  • motivation.

  • She started going to the gym every day after work.

  • She started eating huge salads for nearly every meal.

  • She began to take on more responsibility at work.

  • Nancy started smiling more and began to feel good about herself!

  • BUTsoon Nancy started feeling overwhelmed again.

  • Her new, heavier workload at the office and going to the gym after work every day was

  • exhausting for her.

  • When she got home, she didn't feel like taking the time to put together that jumbo

  • salad, and it was getting boring anyway.

  • So Nancy opted to go out for some fast food, or eat that whole bag of potato chips, which

  • is what she really wanted anyway.

  • Plus, she'd been working so hardshe deserved a break, right?

  • The cycle began again.

  • Instead of seeing the number on the scale go down, Nancy saw it go up, or stay the same.

  • Nancy wasn't seeing the results that she wanted from the gym either, and started skipping

  • days here and there.

  • And more energy??

  • Forget about it!

  • Nancy felt even lower on energy than she did in the beginning, before she wrote down her

  • goals.

  • Since she had no energy, she wasn't performing at work.

  • So where did Nancy go wrong?

  • No it wasn't the seven dwarfs….

  • Nancy didn't have true commitment to her goals.

  • She wanted fast, instantly gratifying results.

  • She overwhelmed herself by trying to do too much all at the same time, and ended up taking

  • steps backward instead of forward.

  • So the big question is: What should Nancy have done differently?

  • If you have some big goals, especially if you have several at once, take a step back.

  • Make sure you're really committed to put in the work, and to be patient with getting

  • results.

  • Be willing to accept that you're probably not going to achieve your goals overnight

  • the time must be put in.

  • This is the first place where Nancy went wrongshe expected big results in a small amount

  • of time.

  • Instead, give yourself smaller goals to reach first.

  • Let's take the example of the gym.

  • First, decide what's doable for youhow many nights after work are you okay with going

  • to the gym?

  • What's a reasonable goal to set for yourself?

  • Let's say you decide on two times a weekMonday and Friday.

  • Really stick to this goal.

  • Do it until it just becomes part of your life; it should be second nature, like showering

  • every day.

  • Soon the action of working out will turn into a habit.

  • This is what you want!

  • When you reach this point, add in one more day at the gym.

  • Say, Wednesday; so you're now going to the gym three times a week: Monday, Wednesday,

  • and Friday.

  • That's huge!

  • So before, Nancy wasn't going to the gym at all, or on a consistent basis.

  • Then she committed to a very manageable, twice a week regimenthat more than doubled

  • her output!

  • Going to the gym twice a week meant that Nancy was going to the gym 8 times a month (if the

  • month has four weeks).

  • Just adding one more day a week increases this to 12 times a month!

  • It may not seem like it, but that's a huge increase!

  • This logic can be applied to any goal!

  • It doesn't just apply to fitness goals.

  • Small goal + commitment = habit.

  • Habit + increased small goal + commitment = achieved goal!

  • Writing down your goal, and the smaller goals you set to achieve it, can be helpful too.

  • So what happened to Nancy?

  • She branched out her goals and applied true commitment to each step.

  • Nancy feels a sense of accomplishment, like she's getting somewhere; she no longer feels

  • mopey and down in the dumps.

  • She feels happier and lighter; she can handle her anxiety and is smiling a lot more.

  • Her sense of accomplishment has given her a huge confidence boost too, and that's

  • important here as well.

  • Sometimes, that surge of energy you feel after you've achieved something is confidence!

  • Nancy's energy level is through the roof!

  • Nancy knows she isn't perfect, and that's okay!

  • I mean, who has perfect, unwavering commitment and can take a straight-lined path to their

  • goal?

  • Not very many peoplewe're human, after all.

  • Nancy's pathand probably your pathhas some right turns, left turns, and

  • zigzags.

  • She has accepted that meeting her goals will take time and patience.

  • Now, Nancy is happy with life and knows that she can accomplish anything with the right

  • method, and so can you!

  • Just do it the right way so that you're not overwhelmedwhich can set you back

  • and make you feel discouraged.

  • Confidence is also a key part of this equation.

  • It's like a meme or a t-shirt: “Nancy has goals.

  • Nancy sets small, achievable goals to reach a bigger one.

  • Be like Nancy.”

  • And live happily ever after!

  • So, how about you.

  • What are some of your goals, and what steps are you going to take to reach them?

  • Let us know in the comments!

  • If you found this video helpful, give it a like and share it with a friend!

  • But don't go hanging out with the seven dwarfs just yetwe have over 2000 cool

  • videos for you to check out; just click on the left or right video and enjoy.

  • And remember: Stay on the Bright Side of life!

Today I'm going to tell you a story that might sound familiar to you.

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