This week I gave a speech at my local Toastmasters club on getting out of neutral. One of the key things you need to do is to take action to achieve your goals and dreams. Momentum is a force of nature. Newton's first law of motion is described as:

If you are not currently doing something to move you towards your goals, then you are at rest and you will tend to stay that way. If you are currently doing something, then you are in motion, and you will continue to make progress towards your goals. It is critical to get into the habit of taking action on a continuous basis. Once you do, it is easier to keep on taking actions that move you forwards.

I have a number of goals that I am currently working on, in different areas of my life. These goals will change from time to time, as I either achieve them or my circumstances change. I have to regularly review each goal and make sure I am taking some kind of action that will in some way move me forwards. It does not always have to be a big step forwards. In fact taking small steps are fine because they are easier to complete, and you get more frequent results which is encouraging.

If I find areas where I am not moving forwards, it is time to pick the next step. I ask myself "What is it I can do to move towards this goal in some small way?" For example, I have a goal to earn money from my photography hobby. I was having coffee with a friend of mine who is a realtor, so I started asking about opportunities for me taking photos of their clients homes. It is a small step, but it is in the right direction.

Try and perform multiple actions per goal rather than just one. If action A does not pan out you have action B - you have insurance that no matter what, you will eventually achieve your goal. Also if more than one action is in play, there is less pressure for each action to deliver the whole  desired result. For example if you create multiple streams of income, then each one does not have to be as large as if you have just one.

Finally remember balance. Make sure you have a balanced selection of goals, and that you are moving forwards on all of them in some way. What your balance is will depend upon you and your values come into play. My friend recently gave a speech on how he was doing great in some areas of his life, but completely neglected other areas. It may work for a while, but eventually you will suffer.