One of the reasons why some people are not moving ahead in life is that they have not made firm decisions to take charge and leave their old lives behind. Fear of the unknown is the main reason. Not wanting to go through the discomfort of unfamiliarity or starting something new is another obstacle.

So though they are unhappy with their present lifestyles, they stick around with their daily routines. As long as they perceive more pain in trying, they are not motivated to change and take action.

If you happen to be in this situation, the way out of it is to seriously want to change and become totally determined to move ahead in life. You can't just wish and hope. You must have very clear defined goal because if you don't, you'll easily forget what it is that you want and lose focus the minute something gets in the way.

Being able to see the end result in advance is one way of staying focused on your goals. When you repeatedly create vivid images of success and allow yourself to feel the sensation of accomplishments in your mind, you are adding fuel to your desire.

If you are only beginning to start anew, you will face doubts. It happens because you've been so used to the old mental programming and self-limitations. Your self-talks will keep reminding you of your failed attempts and mistakes. It tries to protect you from getting hurt and disappointed.

This is when you must take control of your thoughts and start giving new instructions. You must know when to tell those voices to shut-up and give it new instructions to follow. The memories that don't serve you need to go too and you should replace them with new mental pictures, which are within your power to create.

In order to take control and stay optimistic, you need to feed your mind. Two simple actions that you can take are reading and listening to stimulating materials. No matter how busy you are, you must put aside a little bit of your time each day to do either one of these or both.

When you develop the discipline to read each day, you will begin to see possibilities, obtain great ideas, acquire other disciplines and amend your attitude.

With definite goals and the discipline to visualize your end result, taking control of your thoughts, and feeding your mind with positive inputs, you will get inspired to take actions. These are just the few things that you need to start with if you want to move ahead in your life.

Fatimah Musa provides information, tips and quotes to help individuals become aware that any future success starts with their personal growth. You can visit Fatimah at http://www.about-personal-growth.com