Goal setting is a powerful tool, whether applied to professional life, personal aspirations, or health goals. In fact, goal setting can make the critical difference between success and failure.

An obvious goal of many may be to simply stick to their diet and/or exercise program in the context of a busy and overloaded daily routine, but effective goal setting goes far beyond this fairly elementary ambition.

While life can seem out of control at times and you are a passenger in life rather than the driver, remind yourself that YOU have the greatest power of all: that is the ability to design your own life. You can get up each morning and decide to exercise, lift your own spirits through positive affirmations, and eat a nutritious breakfast, or you can choose other options that may be detrimental to your emotional and/or physical health. Ultimately, the decision is yours and yours alone.

Here are some tips for making lifelong commitments through goal setting:

1. Don’t compare yourself to anyone except yourself. It’s not about winning or losing. It’s about making your life better, whatever that means to YOU.

2. Focus on the present: how will you feel after your workout today? Will your ability to resist that Dane fill you with a sense of accomplishment?

3. Imagine the results, literally. The way you imagine yourself is often a self-fulfilling gain. Daydream in detail about what you would like to look like. Athletes picture themselves performing their event over and over in their minds until they finally perfect it. If you see yourself as soft, sloppy, weak, tired, or stressed, this can become your reality just by thinking about it. Imagine yourself on your feet, taking deep breaths, confidently walking forward as you approach life head-on.

4. Take small steps – they DO count! It’s impossible to quit smoking, start drinking 64 oz of water, and exercise 5 days a week. Start slowly, one achievable goal at a time. Start with a short walk and work your way up slowly.

5. Be patient: It may take weeks before you start noticing that you have more energy, that your clothes fit looser, and that you don’t feel short of breath when walking up a flight of stairs. When you recognize these signs of achievement, bask in the glory.

6. Put holes in your excuses. When you find an excuse not to exercise, go back to the reasons you want to exercise in the first place. Put an end to negative self-talk and obstacle training. Grab that mental mallet and blast your way through!

7. Journal – If you only do one thing related to goal visualization, start journaling. Tracking your progress can help you stay focused. Write down not only your goals, but also what exercises you did, how you feel, and what small changes you’re noticing in your daily life, like not having trouble breathing or lifting easily, or having less pain. Writing your goals in front of your journal would help you review them daily.