Do you Have the Burning Desire to Lose Weight or Reach any Goal?

NOTE: This article is one of the component parts of the 9-step WTA3 program contained in the ebook titled "The Action Path -Your Key to Success!" due out in 2005 at http://www.your-key-to-success.com/index_actionpath.html.

- Do you have a Burning Desire? -

Do you have a burning desire to lose weight and reduce your body fat to 10%?
Do you have a burning desire to get a flat, well-toned midsection?
Do you have a burning desire to increase your net worth to $500,000?
Do you have a burning desire to improve your personal relationships?
Do you have a burning desire to start a Business next year?
Do you have a burning desire to reduce your credit card debt?

The key phrase is "Do you have a burning desire to...". We all have hopes, dreams, wants and wishes. Do you have a 'Burning Desire' to make the right choices on a daily basis and take positive action steps toward your goals?

Let's start with a common goal of reducing body fat or losing weight. While losing weight is a more common goal, reducing body fat to your body's optimum level is the better route to take. For this illustration, imagine you had a personal goal of losing 10 lbs in 30 days. Because you're smart, you know that losing weight can be accomplished by taking in fewer calories than you burn. This is a law of nature and makes logical sense. Even though we are aware of this basic principle, losing weight continues to be a difficult goal for many people to accomplish. Now the question; do you really have a 'Burning Desire' to lose 10 lbs in 30 days? If you're like many, your answer is "...yes, I have a desire to lose weight..." but in reality you don't have a 'Burning Desire'.

Another source for creating your own 'Burning Desire' is a program from Tony Robbins titled, Get the Edge! You can see a product review of his program at http://www.your-key-to-success.com/product_gettheedge.html.

To further illustrate our day-to-day choices and the difference between a desire and a 'Burning Desire' let's pretend that you are two days into your diet and you're at your favorite hamburger restaurant for your usual lunch. What are you going to choose from the menu? What choice are you going to make?

Will it be the usual double cheeseburger, large fries and a soft drink?

Will it be a double cheeseburger, small fries and a small soft drink?
Will it be a single burger, no small fries and a diet soft drink?
Will it be a burger (no bun), small salad (light dressing) and water?
Will you leave your favorite hamburger restaurant and find a different place to eat?

Most will order the usual lunch or might only cut down slightly. You might even justify it by convincing yourself that later in the day you'll eat less, you'll exercise more at the gym or you need all this food because you are 'starving'. By choosing to order the usual lunch, you've made a choice to take action towards your goal of losing weight. Let me repeat in a slightly different way. By selecting the usual lunch, you have made a (wrong) choice to take (a negative) action towards your goal of losing weight. Every minute of every day you have the power, potential and intellect to make good choices that will help direct you to take positive actions towards meeting your goals. Will you succumb to a need for immediate gratification or can you delay it for a short period with your eye on the prize, of a larger, more gratifying long-term goal.

Was choosing the usual lunch the right choice for you to meet your goal of losing weight? It probably wasn't the best choice, but only you can make the decision to make the right choice. Your decision to eat a high calorie lunch was probably based on a short-term craving and the need for immediate gratification. After the meal, you've met your short-term craving but you've moved farther away from your long-term goal of losing 10 lbs. You need to be aware that your day-to-day choices are often based on a superficial need to satisfy your immediate gratification. When short-term wins over long-term, it shows that your immediate gratification cravings have registered more votes i