Whether things are going well or going badly, sometimes we all end up in some kind of a rut. It’s easy to get into because it’s a lazy way of going about your days; it feels comfortable. If things are going well, who wants to mess with a good situation? When things are going badly, sometimes it’s hard to see your way through the trees towards trying something else to change it up so you just let it go, hoping it will change on its own.

Stagnation is never a good thing, good or bad. If you allow things to just occur without trying to find ways of keeping it going or stopping it, eventually it will do what you don't want it to. This isn’t to say that change for change’s sake is a good thing; if things are going well, you don’t want to drastically change them up. However, constant tweaking, or at least consistently thinking of new ways to keep things fresh, can help you to stay on top of your game, and make the process of getting to where you want to be fun.

Often I talked about establishing goals, then creating plans on attaining those goals. I wondering how many of you actually tried to do it. Come on, fess up; do you do anything new, or believe it's nonsense? Did your business, career or life grow without goals, or do things stay stagnant, or even decrease?

I’ll tell you a secret. I always take my own advice, but I don’t do it all the time. However, I'm always reminding myself that it's time to do it again. In the Syracuse area, we have lots of gray days at this time of the year, and it's easy to fall into a malaise where you don't want to do anything except get through your day and get home. Of course when you get home that second part is already taken care of, but it's not all that satisfying without something to shoot for.

You have to believe you deserve it, then go out and get it. You will succeed; you just have to believe it.