Dreams or Goals?

"Life is too short to waste.  Dreams are fulfilled only through action, not through endless planning to take action."  ~ David J. Schwartz

My husband tweeted this quote yesterday and it make me think.  Sometimes we spend a lot of time and energy getting ready to take action instead of pouring that energy into actually TAKING action.  We think and over-think things and wait for THE perfect moment, after every duck is in a row and every possible obstacle is removed.  In the meantime, time is passing - quickly.

While I certainly don't recommend starting Take Shape for Life/Medifast or an exercise program the day before a holiday or just before starting on a cruise, I also think it's a mistake to wait until life isn't busy or things settle down.  The reality is that life is ALWAYS busy and as soon as one thing settles down, something else bubbles up.  So many people wait for that perfect Monday to start (or restart), instead of just starting.  We tend to look at our busy schedules and multiple demands and think that we'll eat better and exercise more when life isn't so crazy . . . . months later, things are still crazy and we're still waiting.

I'm talking to myself here when it comes to exercise . . . it is NOT my favorite thing to do and there are ALWAYS other things that get in the way.  I have great intentions, really I do, but they too often fall into the "planning to take action" rather than the "take action" category. 

The reality is that we will move from planning to take action to taking action when we make the decision to move from something being a dream to something being a goal.  As long as what we want stays in the dream stage, we're unlikely to take definitive steps to actualize it and it stays in the "wouldn't it be nice someday" phase - and it can stay there indefinitely.  But once that dream becomes a goal, then those action steps we've mulled over in our minds become action steps that we're ready and willing to take.

When our dreams become our goals, we will also MAKE the time and figure out how to deal with the obstacles.  We won't wait for the perfect moment to get started, we'll just get started and take one action step at a time.

Is getting to a healthy weight your dream or your goal?  You can choose today to either keep planning to take action or you can take action.  The choice is yours . . . choose wisely :-)