By Anth Quinn. Part 5. 

People often know they aren't living the life they would like to. They may even have a clear goal but don't seem able to make long-term sustainable change in their lives.

Even when they develop clear goals, decide on a plan and take action, somehow they lose their way and find themselves back where they started - sometimes in a worse spot than before!

It's all too easy in the rush of enthusiasm that follows the decision to change to get carried away and try and change everything at once. That approach really does work for some people. But if you're one of the many who've tried, tried and tried again and become disillusioned along the way - I'd like to suggest a different approach.

If you want to change any part of your life how about taking control by starting small?

This is a simple but very effective way of making genuine sustainable change and growth in any area of your life.

First pick one area of your life where you'd like to grow. Take a look at where you are now and where you'd like to be. Then decide on one simple small step to that would move you towards what you want.

Now simply make a promise to yourself that for the next week that you will keep this up. Here are some examples: If you'd like to stop smoking and currently smoke 20 a day - you could promise to stick to 18 a day! Or if you'd like to lose weight, you could promise to only eat two biscuits with your morning coffee, rather than the usual three.

It really doesn't matter what the promise is. What does matter is that you intend to keep it!

The most common reason people fail is because they set goals which they believe are out of reach. 

Keep it small and it's not only easier to keep your promise, it's also harder to break it!

After a week, review how you got on with your promise. You may find it easier initially if ask a friend to ask how you're getting on each week. 

If you kept it up all week - FANTASTIC! Give yourself a pat on the back. What would be another small step be towards your goal? Remember, keep it small and keep moving forward.

If you never managed to keep it - ask yourself what went wrong? What can I learn from this?

Did you really mean to keep your promise in the first place? Was it just too hard? If this is the case and the change is still important to you ask how could you make it easier for yourself? Think of something smaller and commit to that, and try again.

There is no success or failure here - only an opportunity to understand yourself and learn what works for you. We do things for reasons (even bad habits). Understanding these reasons gives you options and allows you to choose to react differently!

The secret really is to keep the steps small. If you keep this process up you'll find that you make measurable progress towards your goal and in all probability look back wonder how it could ever have been hard.

But there is second hidden benefit in this process - and that is the growth in self-confidence and self-esteem that comes from making and keeping promises. This is especially true when the promise is only to yourself!

Give it a go I'm sure you'll be amazed!

Fear of taking action is the biggest single cause of stagnation in life. Taking small steps allows you to gain control, build confidence and transform your life. Any so-called wrong decisions or actions will be correspondingly small and easy to learn from, again building the habit of learning and moving on!

Taking small steps and preserving simplicity, then being wrong and learning from it is the best way to explore the unknown. Make failure frequent, fast, and cheap. - Roy Miller