There are no secrets to success, only consistent action over a long period of time. The problem is, you get stuck in your head, lose motivation, and stop too soon.

But what if you could stay consistent? What if you could beat the nagging thoughts and stick to your goals once and for all?

Here are 4 of my favorite quotes that will help you do that.

1. “Just begin.” - Nik Göke

When I was getting started with writing in 2018 I emailed one of my favorite writers asking for advice. Other than some encouragement, he only gave me two words:

"Just begin."

That was all I needed, and six months later I had published nearly 200 articles online. I was making money from my writing, meeting amazing people, and learning new skills.

All because I decided to embrace imperfection and get going.

2. “What would your life look like if you decided to go as hard as you possibly could? What if you just went for it? What if you just decided today was going to be the day that you stopped BSing yourself and went all-in on a better future?” — Ayodeji Awosika

Rather than worrying about if life was going to go wrong, start asking what would happen if it goes right.

Vacations stress me out, but a couple of years ago I saw some crazy good deals on flights to Hawaii. I went for it, even though I knew that taking three young kids would be one of the hardest things I've ever done.

But I stopped thinking about it and just jumped and it was one of the best experiences of my life.

What would happen if you just took that leap of faith?

3. “The antidote to overthinking isn’t more thinking—the antidote is action. You don’t think your way out of overthinking. You act your way out. You retire broken soundtracks. You replace them with new ones. You repeat those so often they become as automatic as the old ones. Those are all actions.” — Jon Acuff

"Soundtracks" in this quote refers to the thought patterns that live rent free in your head.

Most people have negative thinking habits that bring them down. But you don't have to stay stuck like that.

Just like you can change a song or playlist of songs, you can also change the thoughts and groups of thoughts that you let take up space in your mind.

Fix your thinking by:

1. Identifying negative thought patterns by asking if a thought is true, helpful, or kind.

2. Finding new soundtracks by searching for inspiring ideas you want to keep in your mind.

3. Keeping those truths in a place you can refer to often and read them every day.

The key to what you want in life isn't going to come from some hack. You already know what you need to do, you just need to stop thinking and do it. Scared, imperfect, and unprepared as you are.