Over the years, I've worked with many people to make changes in their lives. Some succeed completely, some partially, and others disappear when they begin to make breakthroughs. I've discovered that there are four main reasons why a person may not follow through and achieve their goals.

1. You don't want the goal enough to do what is necessary to achieve it.

Some people want to just dream about their desire, without putting any effort or action into its creation. Just imagining how a room will look with new paint on the wall and the furniture recovered won't get it done. Visualizing what you want and then taking steps to order the paint and sew the fabric for the furniture will be what manifests it for you.

The same is true for any goal. To reduce weight, you have to ingest fewer calories than you use and get active. If you want a greater income, you may need to ask for a raise, get more training, or move your residence. In some cases, a complete lifestyle change (mental and physical) may be in order.

2. There's a conflict between your conscious and subconscious minds.

Consciously you want your goal, and have been taking steps to achieve it, but keep getting blocked. If this is the case, your conscious and subconscious minds may be disagreeing on whether your goal is acceptable. You subconscious mind is acting on the sum total of all the information its been given over your entire lifetime.

By blocking you, your subconscious thinks it's helping you. But it's doing it in a way that you no longer need. You need to communicate to it that you really do want this goal. Let it know that the old messages about the goal no longer applies, that you deserve your desire. You can use affirmations, self-hypnosis, action, journaling, talking to yourself in the mirror or various other techniques to get the subconscious mind's attention and cooperation.

3. The change makes you too uncomfortable.

This is more common that you'd guess. If you change too much, too fast, your subconscious will pull back on the reins. You'll miss appointments, get sick, or lose interest in your goal. One of the things you'll probably need is to find new ways to cope with the challenges of your life. This is one of the reasons the subconscious sabotages progress. You're starting to make changes, but haven't created new strategies to deal with stress.

If you truly want a fuller life, you have to change the way you think about yourself to fulfill your complete vision. When someone inappropriately criticizes you, instead of heading to the refrigerator to make yourself feel better, tell them to cut it out. If you feel inadequate to handle being promoted, instead of backing out of it, remind yourself of all your positive qualities, all the things you've accomplished, and that you can learn new skills.

4. You're trying too hard. You may want your goal too much, so much that you're trying to force it to happen.

The reason for this is fear that it won't happen. If this is the case, your subconscious is acting on the fear, and there's no way you can accomplish your goal while in this state of mind.

Once you've done everything you can, let the Universe work with you. Your

subconscious is the creative part of you, and the Universe is the power. Tell yourself that your subconscious and the Universe know how to manifest anything you want. Remember things you've manifested in the past by trusting in the Universe. Then let your subconscious and the Universe take care of the details.

Most people want to improve their lives, but don't know what to do when things aren't moving forward. They can't identify what's holding them back. Once you recognize the obstacle, you can then begin to dismantle it. Use any tools that can help you, and start chipping away at the blocks. Soon you'll have a clear path to your goal.