If it’s not hard, it’s not worth doing. On the journey of pursuing your goals and dreams, there will most likely be moments of feeling overwhelmed and a lack of progress. Here are a few tips to help get you through the slump.

Examine your actions. Sometimes we get lost in the trees and miss the forest. Our actions begin to misalign with the goal and get us off-track. Take a minute to re-evaluate the path you are on, and ensure it will lead you to the end solution.

Keep making progress – no matter how small. Discipline and positive habits are crucial to achieving goals. At times progress may stagnate, but it’s important to keep up the activity. Eventually a breakthrough will occur, and progress will be made again.

Visualize what you are working towards.  Keep in mind why you have the goal. What will life look like when you achieve the goal? It’s the proverbial carrot on a stick and is very effective.

Stay accountable. Having an accountability partner helps get us on track and moving towards our goals. Share your goals and deadlines (yes, give yourself deadlines) with someone who will challenge you to stay on course. This person should follow up, ask you about your progress, and challenge you if you aren’t making the progress you committed to.

Reward yourself. Long-term goals sometimes require interim rewards to help stay motivated towards achieving goals. If you are trying to lose weight, you can set aside money to buy new clothes when you lose 5 pounds.