Responsibility has three "I" and no "U" for a reason.  Others can help us but it is ultimately up to us to take responsibility for our actions and the results that arise from those actions, or inactions. "I can help, but in the end, it is up to you”  David Kirby

It is important to have people around you to help assist you when pursuing your goals.  However, if you need someone else to be the primary source of your motivation or inspiration, then you need to find new goals.  Goals should be YOUR goals and YOU must be the one to bring the energy and not rely on others to convince you that you are capable and that your goal has value.  "All the effort in the world won’t matter if you’re not inspired."  Chuck Palahniuk 

Sure, we are blessed and we "luck" in to a lot of things.  However, the majority of life won't be won if we don't try to win. "The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.”  Arthur C. Clarke

A common reframe in our world is "I don't have the time".   It is a simple phrase and it gives us an easy out.  Everyone gets it.  The fact is, we make time for those things that matter.  Eat, sleep, bathroom breaks, fun things, social things, convenient things.  When we say, "I don't have the time", we are really saying, "This isn't that valuable to me so I CHOOSE NOT TO MAKE THE TIME."  We are all motivated by what we place value in.  Even the most unorganized and "time management challenged" person in the world will make time for church if we value our relationship with God.  We make time to workout if we value being fit.  We make time to take showers if we don't want to be "stinky guy".  We make time for our goals if we value them.  "Things rarely get stuck because of a lack of time. They get stuck because the doing of them has not been defined."  David Allen

Helping others to be their best will always make us better.  “To collaborative team members, completing one another is more important than competing with one another.”  John C. Maxwell

Being observant is a skill.  Like most skills, some people are more natural and pick up a specific skill more easily or quickly.  Others may struggle to learn a specific skill.  Being observant is having the ability to notice things around you and then use that knowledge to make decisions, adjust your actions or behave appropriately.  The longer I live, the more I realize that being observant is something that is underappreciated and is lacking in the majority of the population.  Technology doesn't help.  Depending on GPS keeps us from looking for landmarks.  Depending on SIRI or ALEXA replaces our need to pay attention and learn so that we can answer our own questions.  If you want to make a big improvement in your life and leap over the competition, practice the skill of observation.  "Observation is so key to success and development. Always be on the lookout and listen out to see and hear things that you can use."  Kevin Eastman

Saying that you want something is a great first step. "Speak it into being"!  But the follow-up is what matters most.  There must be intentional action that leads you to those goals and those actions aren't without cost.  "I know the price of success: dedication hard work, and an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen."  Frank Lloyd Wright

​Take out your earbuds.  Close your eyes.  Take a deep breath.  Blow it out.  Take another BIG DEEP breath and blow it out.
"The only way to maximize the potential for performance is to be calm in the mind."  Brian Sipe
 

Goals are extremely beneficial but goals become demotivating and distracting when we have so many goals that we can't remain passionate and motivated to achieve them.  Focusing on a few goals is more productive than wanting to accomplish everything under the sun. "People are remarkably bad at remembering long lists of goals. I learned this at a professional level when trying to get my high-performance coaching clients to stay on track; the longer their lists of goals, the more overwhelmed and off-track they got. Clarity comes with simplicity."  Brendon Burchard