I hate to break the news to you but as long as we're alive, we'll experience setbacks, problems and challenges. No matter how many affirmations we say, spiritual books we read, vitamins we take, yoga poses we practice or vegan meals we consume, we'll always have "learning opportunities."

The key to success is to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and quickly adjust to the situation. To be successful, after you've been knocked down by a very real or perceived setback, you've got to quickly get back up and take some positive action. Without taking action, long-term success isn't going to be in the cards for you and your stress level isn't going to go down any time soon.

Most likely, you've a perfectly "legitimate" reason for not taking action. You haven’t been able to get out and exercise because the weather has been cold and rainy or, in the case of my Arizona, too hot. You can’t get any work done on your marketing plan because the phone keeps ringing. You can't start that diet next week is your birthday, or somebody else's birthday, and you want to be able to party. You can't afford to attend that self-development class or to work with that counselor because your funds are a bit low right now. You can't go back to school and take classes that spark your passion because you're too old.

So go ahead and give up. Admit defeat. The weather is not going to improve any time soon, the phone calls will just keep coming and your cash flow may remain low for awhile. The obstacles that prevent you from taking action are not going away. Admit defeat and then find a way to take action anyway.

Rather than fighting against something that you cannot change, look for ways to adapt. As long as you’re fighting against it, you've got a great excuse. But excuses won’t help you accomplish anything. So give up the fight, give up the excuse and do what needs to be done. Admit defeat, get it behind you, and then quickly take the actions that will bring you success.

Oh, here's a shameless plug. If you need somebody to motivate and mentor you as you move step by step closer to your goals, contact me.  I'm a success coach and "joyologist" who has the expertise and experience to help you let go of excuses so you can take the positive actions that will make your goals become a reality.