When was the last time you made an improvement in your life? What happened that made you change? I bet you grew uncomfortable in your situation and you wanted to change it. If you want to lose weight there are a few things that may have provoked you. You could be worried about your health, you could be worried about how you look, or you could have had a heart attack. Each of these things describes situations where you were uncomfortable and the discomfort made you want to change. Each of us is wired to avoid discomfort; in an extreme sense we want to avoid pain (pulling your hand from a flame). When we decide to change, depends on our individual threshold of discomfort. In the weight loss example one individual may decide to lose weight when she is worried about her health, but another may need to have a heart attack to lose the weight.
We can use our need to avoid discomfort to accomplish what we want out of life. The trick is to use your imagination to make you feel like you are near the threshold of discomfort. For instance, if you know you need to reduce spending to get out of debt, spend some time thinking about what could happen if you do not start paying the debt off. Imagine that you are unable to pay for your kids college, you cannot retire, you will never be able to go on that trip to Europe you dreamed about your whole life, or that you are living out of a cardboard box. By using this imagery you are leaving your comfort zone to manipulate your emotions which will influence your actions to reach your goals.