&#x93;Well done is better than well said.&#x94;</p><p>This is a wonderful quote by Benjamin Franklin, one that I believe in and try to live by.</p><p>In the world we live in today, people talk all the time about things they are going to do or have done. Sometimes we are inspired to follow their lead and sometimes we are overwhelmed and feel defeated even before we can begin to take that first step. </p><p>I fall victim to this just as much as the next person does. We all have high hopes and aspirations of doing something grand and extraordinary, but when it comes down to it, sometimes it requires such a large time commitment that you might not be able to achieve it.</p><p>Running a marathon is a great dream and goal for a lot of people. I know several people who have completed their first marathons just this year and are planning for the next one.</p><p>I admire each of these individuals for setting a goal, planning the attack and putting in the time to achieve this goal. My applause and praise will never be enough to let you know how proud I am of each and every one of you. I don&#x92;t have the goal of running a marathon. I don&#x92;t know why but it is something that I do not aspire to do right now. I have other goals to accomplish; usually they are smaller goals that require less time in training. And even though I want a 26.2 sticker for my back window, I am alright without it for now.</p><p>If you want to achieve a goal, I believe you should tell everyone who is close to you about that goal. This will give you a built-in cheering section to help you along the way when things get tough and also people who can go celebrate with you when you accomplish this goal. I believe you should do this with any aspect of your life: professional, personal, working out, relationships, etc. Think about what you share about your dreams and aspirations. Actions do speak a lot louder than words. If you want to run a marathon next month, that is a great goal. However, if you haven&#x92;t been training at all it might be a little hard to complete. Be realistic. Do some investigating. </p><p>The same goes with goals in your life. You might want to own your own business or get promoted. But if you don&#x92;t research and make a business plan or work any harder than you are right now, the chances of it happening are like playing the lottery.</p><p>The same is true with your personal life. If you are always telling your friends and family that you are going to do something, and you never do, then their faith and belief in you will falter.</p><p>It doesn&#x92;t even have to be something big. The small things do pile up quickly if you can&#x92;t seem to follow through with your word. </p><p>It really wasn&#x92;t that long ago that people could do business with just a handshake and their word. It was expected that if you said something, then that it was true. Now we live in a world of contracts and tons of paperwork for everyone to initial and sign. We have conditioned ourselves to the idea that it takes that much to follow through with our word.</p><p>Maybe this can be used as a good thing in your personal life. Maybe you can make a contract with yourself to take care of yourself by working out a certain amount of times a week. Or by eating properly throughout the week. Or by spending time with your friends, family and other loved ones.</p><p>It&#x92;s almost the end of the year, and people are trying to get everything done, and some people are even starting to think about what they will be doing next year to make it better than this year. You can put a lot of resolutions in writing. How about shortening that list or really evaluating how much time you can commit to your resolutions to see if they are even possible.</p><p>Think of how wonderful you will feel when all of your resolutions are checked off because you were realistic in setting them, rather than the disappointment you will feel if you only achieve half because you set too many.</p><p>Be realistic, follow through and you will achieve.</p><p>Janice Jacoby resides in Lee&#x92;s Summit. She has been in the health and wellness field professionally since 2002 and instructing locally since 2006.