To get to this place, you had to make many changes. Some were small, some were large, some were trivial and some were absolutely life altering.

Now comes the job of maintaining those changes and keeping that goal alive in your life. You’re riding high right now, but what will happen when real life creeps back in (bad habits included)? What will you do when day-to-day pressures or complacency threaten your new found habits and lifestyle? You can plan ahead and come up with a maintenance strategy that will meet those challenges head on.

Hopefully you’ve already had some time to reflect upon what you’ve accomplished and what it took to get you here. Staying in touch with both of those things is crucial to maintaining your goal.

Otherwise, after awhile you might stop acknowledging what a huge deal it was that you made these changes. And that leaves you vulnerable to letting them slip. As well, you might minimize the incredible challenges you met and triumphed over. And that leaves you vulnerable to new challenges.

What’s Fear Got To Do With It?

You may have never come this far before, and you’re probably feeling fearful about slipping back and losing what you’ve gained. And yet, you might be afraid of asking for help to make sure that doesn’t happen.

Objectivity is key here. While the best way to get an objective perspective is from someone that’s outside of the situation (your coach, a trusted friend, a supportive family member), there are also things you can do on your own.

Writing things down can be extremely helpful. When something is in front of you in black and white, it’s much easier to evaluate.

Maintain Your Dream

To answer the following questions, look back at the journal entries, worksheets and tracking sheets you may have kept during the process of meeting your goal. Or, simply answer them in this moment:

1. What is the dream goal that you’ve reached?

2. What does it mean to you and how do you feel about accomplishing this?

3. What challenges did you need to overcome to meet this goal?

4. Which challenge are you most proud of facing?

5. What challenges might be facing you as you maintain your dream?

6. What strategies will help you meet these challenges?

The farther you get along your journey of growth and self-discovery, the more you will see that life is a constant cycle of change. You’ll work towards and meet many different goals. And when you get to the maintenance stage, it helps to remember where you came from.

It’s time to stop telling yourself lies, stop making excuses and (gulp) take a long hard look at what role you are playing in your current situation.

If you’re willing to ask yourself the hard questions now, you can save yourself from facing them as even bigger roadblocks in the future. But if you skip this step, you’ll keep coming up against these same issues over and over again, no matter how hard you work.

If you can:

1) See things as they really are, and

2) Accept responsibility for your role in making them that way,

Then you can regain your power and fully claim the fearless life you deserve.

The good news is that by doing this essential work, you can clear most of what’s been stopping you from living your dreams.

More often than not, “you” are what is standing in the way of achieving your goals or living your dreams. And that’s a good thing!

Why is that a good thing? Because “you” is something you can do something about. Not so with other people or outside situations, which you need to accept and work with as they are.

What’s Fear Got To Do With It?

Once you uncover the truth about your own role in keeping yourself down, it might be scary to consider the changes you’re going to have to make.

As well, you will likely have to give up some long-standing beliefs, and even though they’re getting in your way, maybe they’re all you’ve even known.

It’s scary to not know exactly what’s going to replace those beliefs and how your life will look and feel once you’ve made those changes.

No one likes to look at the ugliest parts of themselves and admit their own shortcomings. Yet, on the other side of this process, you will experience a huge weight being lifted from your shoulders. Lying to others takes a lot of energy, but lying to yourself takes a hundred times more energy.

The bad news is that you were contributing to the problem all along, but the great news is that now you can fix it!

You’re not hiding behind denial anymore, and that new sense of vulnerability holds a certain power. Anything is possible now.

Get Real

To start the process of getting real, consider the 5 questions about yourself you’re most afraid to hear the answers to. Then, ask a trusted friend or partner for their honest feedback, and open yourself up to hear it.

Congratulations on your extraordinary fearlessness!

Gratitude invites a sense of humility and a focus on what truly matters – which can be especially challenging in our materialistic society. It helps you to see that while you may not have everything you want, you do have more than everything you need. Gratitude brings everything into balance and gives you a proper perspective.

What’s Fear Got To Do With It?

The process of finding gratitude requires you to face the darkest and most negative things or people in your life – things that have caused you pain, anger or other unpleasant feelings (e.g. an awful boss or a painful divorce).

Your task is to then find gratitude for those things. The truth is that often the greatest gifts come from our most painful experiences. They may bring the opportunity to learn something new, to build your character or to develop a new sense of strength and independence.

There may also be a fear that if you express gratitude for what you have, you won’t ever get anything more. Actually, you can be grateful and still want more or different things. They go hand and hand. After all, the Universe provides everything we have. If you were to give someone a gift and they didn’t show appreciation for it, would you want to give them more?

Find Gratitude

Begin today to practice finding gratitude for little things throughout the day. The simplest, silliest things can fill a moment with pleasure – a beautiful flower, your favorite breakfast or listening to your favorite song. Then, at the end of your day, jot down as many of these things as you can remember. Try to include at least one negative thing that you found a reason to be grateful for.

When you find gratitude for the positive and negative things in your life, all of a sudden you feel a greater sense of readiness to take on new challenges. Because you’ve proven to yourself that no matter how they turn out, you’ll be able to find the gift in every experience.

You also give yourself a catalog of wonderful things to be happy about – something I call a Gratitude List – to turn your mind to when challenges pop up during the day.

“Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.”

Japanese proverb

If you have a vision of what you want to achieve, it’s essential to create an action plan of how and when you’re going to do it. This is the time to set specific goals, assign timelines and watch as quantifiable results begin to manifest.

You’ll break down each action item into manageable tasks, to guard against overwhelm. And when you meet each of your own self-imposed deadlines, plan to give yourself a special reward. This will help you follow through and stay committed.

You’ll experience an incredible sense of relief and accomplishment when you complete your fearless action plan. It’s kind of like building a dream home, from the first blueprint right up to moving day. A detailed plan turns into a phenomenal reality. There’s no more wondering, “How can I possibly do this?”

What’s Fear Got To Do With It?

It may be intimidating to see a roadmap that literally leads you to your desired goal, and to see your goals and dreams actually taking shape in the “real world”.

This task can also be challenging to those who aren’t particularly detail-oriented or organized. That is a great opportunity to call in for reinforcements; look for a life coach, trusted friend or family member who does have those qualities.

You may notice fear and resistance pushing back against you as you try to get into action. This is a pivotal stage in your quest for success, and having a strong supporter can make a big difference.

Get Into Fearless Action

Brainstorm a list of things you’ll need to do in order to manifest your dream. Now choose one, and break it down into small action steps that you can take in 30 minutes or less. Next, select one to start with.

Finally, commit to one other person exactly when you’ll take that 30-minute action, and follow up with them after you’ve done it. Don’t forget your reward!

Congratulations on bringing your daydream into reality!

Because once you’ve clarified your vision of what you want to achieve, you will be full steam ahead on your journey towards achieving it.

A vision becomes a “guiding light” for your process of self-improvement, both a beacon of inspiration and an anchor that keeps you focused and grounded.

And when you face the inevitable obstacles and challenges along the way, having a strong sense of what you’re working towards will motivate you to carry on.

A clear vision will also help you to address distractions that can threaten your progress and overwhelm you on a daily basis. When you’ve become clear about what is important, you’ll be less tempted by what is not, so you can focus your time and energy where it belongs.

What’s Fear Got To Do With It?

Vision work means venturing into new territory, and it can be scary to start something new without knowing how it’s going to turn out. Trust the process and try to find the excitement that’s mixed in with that fear.

If you’ve never considered the possibility of calling forth your own vision, you may be afraid of getting exactly what you ask for. Many of us are just as afraid of success as we are of failure.

Now’s the time to get fearless and do a reality check. Are you hanging on to any old beliefs that tell you don’t deserve to have what you really want? You deserve everything and anything you want, but you must first be willing to let go of old beliefs or values that no longer serve you.

Clarify Your Vision

Begin by creating one simple affirmation about your vision that you can repeat to yourself whenever you feel like you’re straying from your course.

Speak your affirmation in the present tense, such as “I love living in my large home in the hills”, or “It is so wonderful to finally be working at my dream job.”

This simple step alone will renew your faith in your vision and keep it alive and strong, giving you the momentum to keep moving towards it!