So you want to make a change. The "pain" of your current situation has caused you to want something different. You may exclaim, "That's IT! Something needs to change with this. I am going to______."
Congratulations, you just initiated a new goal! Even if it's not new. What counts is that you feel motivated and intend to do something to change your current situation. Yep, it's that simple. You said you wanted to change, but do you really think of it as a goal? Probably not- until you've written it down, talked about it with a few people, maybe posted it on Facebook, or acknowledged it as something you want -it doesn't feel like a "goal." However, realize that you told yourself and anyone in earshot that you have an INTENTION. You can choose to make it a goal (or not). Why did you say it, if you didn't really want to make a change on some level? So now what?
That spark of motivation, no matter how small, can be leveraged to pull you through the first couple of challenges...but to make it all the way you must ensure first that you set the right goal for YOU, for right NOW.
Do You Really Want It?
There are some key differences between goal setting and goal ACHIEVING. The most critical difference is that Goal Achievers have set the right goal: not just any random intention becomes a goal worthy of focus and effort. Do you really want it? When you think about actually achieving your goal, it should scare you a little bit, and excite you a lot. If it's not the right intention-come-goal, then don't worry about it. Think about what you DO want.