Here's what's keeping you from having the body you want…

I hope your fitness plan is progressing well. If it’s not (or if you don't have a fitness plan) odds are that a lack of motivation is your biggest hurdle.

Motivation is step number one for any activity you engage in, big or small, period.

You see, you have to be motivated enough to put your keys in the ignition in order to drive your car, you have to think that eating is important in order to gobble a hamburger, and you have to think that being on top the world is important in order to take that first step towards the peak of Everest.

Having free will means that you can't do anything without really wanting it first, and trust me when I say that getting fit is no exception.

But people usually have difficulty making the leap from understanding that fitness is important to thinking that it is important enough to take action.

So how do you reach that point?

One of the most common ways people get into shape is by deciding upon a goal and fixating on it.

Now we have some general idea that fitness is important, in the sense that we've heard doctors, public service TV ads, and maybe even our mothers say it's important… but I doubt any of that is going to do you good.

My Mom told me a lot of things we're good for me, and I love her, but that doesn't mean I ever did anything because she thought it was good for me. Now if she told me something was bad for me, usually that made me wanna do it… but that's a topic for another day.

You should forget all those reasons why you hear getting into shape is important and just decide why getting into shape is important to YOU, specifically.

Once you have the real reason you want to be in shape the forefront of your mind, keep it there and feel good about it.

Think about how much confidence you will have and how much you will like what you see in the mirror.

If you always keep your goals and why you have those goals in the front of your mind, actually doing something about your goals will soon follow.