It’s incredibly easy to put things off, to find excuses, to be the “pro” at procrastinating. It’s also incredibly easy to second guess ourselves, to think about the things we would “love to do” or that we “long to do” and find a multitude of reasons why it couldn’t/wouldn’t work. The two elements are intertwined, either letting our fear drive our delaying tactics or our sheer lack of energy be fed by, or excused by, our doubts.

Whatever the reasons, these are traps into which we all fall. We admire people who have pushed beyond and done the things we imagine ourselves doing. We envy them but we don’t do the things, or make the changes necessary, to achieve our own goals.

This applies in every aspect of our lives. We long to be more fit but we are also happy to pull up the covers for another 30 minutes. We want to eat healthier but we find our hand in the chip bag or wrapped around a cookie without thinking about it twice. We want to learn a new skill, expand our learning or undertake a creative endeavor but our day jobs, our obligations, our busy schedules all get in the way.

And these are all real things, real commitments and real obstacles. Our lives are often overly full, our bodies are tired and our minds are focused on a thousand different things. But we also know that life is short and, as I am wont to say, it changes in the space between one heartbeat and the next.

So how do we make that leap? How do we reach that objective that seems so far out of reach? How do we go from “magical thinking” to action? It seems to me that the best way to do that, indeed the best way to do anything, is, first, to understand your why. Let’s use exercise as an example. Why does this matter to you, not just on the surface but in your core? Is it to feel better or is it to be there to watch your children grow up or something entirely different? If you can define your motivation, it will strengthen your desire. Make a promise to the person who matters most—yourself—and keep it. Your promise might be “Today I am getting up half an hour earlier and exercising because I want to be live a healthy, active life with my family.” Write it down—not every word but the words that remind you. Stick a post it note on your bathroom mirror. Tell your partner that this is your plan. And do it. Just once. And then again. And again until it becomes a part of you.

If your goal is to change your career, decide what you can do today to help make that happen. Is it to do some research on the change you want? Is it to find some people in that career with whom to network? Is it committing to yourself to spend 30 minutes every day that are focused on what comes next? Talking to others, making connections, always helps us to be clearer and firmer with our intentions and it opens the door to others who may help us on our journey.

We’ve all heard the saying that “a journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step.” And that step matters. As do the step after that and the one after that. Time does not stand still nor can we if we want to continue to grow and to fill our full hearts.