"Adjust the thoughts (beliefs) and the actions will fall into alignment." My friend, Kirk Nugent, shared this idea with me on his Facebook page. It seems that his words of focus and inspiration always show up when I need them the most. I had earlier been complaining about how I was struggling to get my writing completed for the day.

According to Kirk, my words will put my actions into place so that things will fall in line. My life at that moment seemed so out of focus that just SEEING that line would be impossible. His words made me wonder if maybe my thoughts are not what I thought they were.

What am I thinking if I am not doing what I want?

I struggled to figure out how I could believe I was doing one thing but not get the actions I expected if I was doing that thing. Maybe it was that I was almost doing it or maybe it was just that my radar was not tuned in to the right frequency.

"It is a conflict between what I want now and what I want long term." Another friend, Dawn Harvey, offered these words of wisdom when I was trying to find the focus to get me to where I want to go. Too often the now overrides the long term and I end up in tomorrow wandering around in a mess of what should have been done.

See . . . it can be confusing.

I think I know what I am doing when the reality of my situation is that I am not doing what I think.

Finding the Path to Adjust My Thoughts

- Write it down. Putting down what I want AND putting down what I am doing will let me compare notes at the end of the day. Seeing in black and white how I have spent my day will help me determine if I am putting action behind my dreams or spending my time lost in daydreams that will fade into tomorrow.

- Get others involved. Accountability will provide the fuel to ignite the motivation. Knowing that others expect something from me or look for something in me will drive me to accomplish that task. I will do more when others will be looking to see what I have done.

- Expect more from self. I am so much more than I often allow myself to be. I hold back - because of fear, because of insecurities, or because it is easier to hold back than to step out in faith and try. When I start expecting more from my own actions then I will find that I produce more in and through those actions.

- MOVE! It is said that you can become anything if you believe, but that belief must be backed by actions. I have to go to get there - so start moving now.

Wants will always arise. I can choose to give into the temporary wants - those that are distracting me away from my possibilities. Or, I can choose to see the long term and reach for that with all that I have in me.

Adjust the thoughts and the actions will soon follow!

Kathryn Lang works as a columnist, speaker and author in Guntersville. You can invite her to speak at your next event by visiting www.kathrynlang.com. Her novel - RUN - will be out later in the spring.