We all have goals in life. It's the reason we get up and get out of bed each morning. There is always something to do, something to achieve. Sometimes though, we get stuck. We start a goal and quit, or we never even begin, letting our goals go to the wayside.

One of the easiest ways you can help yourself start or complete a goal is by taking the time to write your goal out in full detail. When you write things out, you begin to look at your goals objectively. Then you can decide which goals are in your immediate range of possibilities and which ones may need more time, effort or research to finish. Getting out of your own head and looking at your goals as they are written out before you in black and white will really crystallize things for you. You may need to adjust your goals so that they are more realistic or your goals may indeed be achievable but you may need to put more effort into realizing them.

Examining A Goal

Take this example. Say you have always worked for someone else but secretly you long to be your own boss. When you take the time to write down your goal: "One day I want to be my own boss," you suddenly realize the total vagueness of this goal. At first this may sound like a good goal in your head, but upon reflection, many questions start to come to mind.

• What kind of business do you want to run?
• Where will you get the money or the inventory to run such a business?
• How do you even get started?

You can see the snowball effect. One question leads to another and another. Don't be overwhelmed. Examine your goals to keep yourself on track, but don't panic if you haven't thought them through very well and you end up with a long page of questions. The more questions you ask, the more likely you are to look for the answers.

This is a simple example but some people never get beyond even this starting step. But as you can see, the one act of writing out your goals and examining them with an objective mind can give you great clarity.

Stay Positive

Examining your goals in detail will bring both strengths and weakness to the forefront. Don't not let yourself succumb to discouragement. You are taking a more objective look at your goals for self-improvement, not self-criticism. Your goals in life are the basis of your happiness. What you long to do and how well you succeed are most certainly connected to your personal well-being. We all long for a good and happy life. Having goals and putting our best foot forward to succeed is what happiness is all about. Examine your goals to improve them but stay positive with the process. After all, happiness is the ultimate end goal.