Our reasons for often stopping halfway through our journey may vary, but the general rule is that these excuses are potent goal- and progress-busters.

So how do you go from being stuck in the standard 90 percent to taking a leap into the enviable 10 percent?

Here are 3 things you can do to alleviate the pain and move forward:

1.  Feed your brain bite-sized “action candy.”

Research suggests that pushing yourself to try harder isn’t sufficient to achieve a goal. Did you know that willpower is an exhaustible source?

Before starting a new project, the brain visualizes the challenges to come and instead of driving us to do the grunt work and forge ahead, it tries to simulate “real work” by focusing on small, mindless tasks, such as checking our phone/email, going on Facebook, reaching for snacks. This is also known as The Zeigarnik Effect—a pretty crafty way that the ego uses to keep us stuck.

Instead, scientists suggest to just get started—then, feed your brain bite-sized steps that require immediate and almost mindless action.

For Example: Instead of trying to “eat healthy” (a task that implies heavy mental work like researching recipes, portion control, figuring out what to eat every time you go out, counting calories and so on), aim to start by eating three servings of fruit and vegetables a day. You will make progress toward your goal to eat healthy, but taking action will be a no-brainer —reaching for the bag of baby carrots instead of the potato chips in the afternoon or swapping the mashed potatoes for broccoli with your steak at dinner (no offense, potatoes!)

And if work is what you are trying to avoid, you can “bite-size” the timing of your activities by implementing intervals and minimizing resistance. In his renowned 1993 study of young violinists, performance researcher Anders Ericsson found that the best players practiced in the morning, dividing their sessions in three increments of no more than 90 minutes each with a break in between. The same pattern was common among other musicians, writers, athletes and even chess players.

2. Change the Source of Your Motivation.

Motivation is willpower’s chief resuscitator. Business expert Skip Richard says,

“People seem to be motivated by one of two forces. Either toward or against…both can be equally powerful motivators, but one seems to last.”

Richard goes on to explain,

“I’ve found that the people moving toward the new opportunity are more successful, happier, and continue on an upward career path.  These people are energized by the future, by what’s to come, by what’s possible … Contrast that with the people moving away from a job. It seems that the very same things that they didn’t like about the one job magically seemed to follow them to the next!”

So learn to set “forward goals” where focus is on the desired outcome ahead as opposed to “escape goals” where the focus is on the not-wants you are so desperately trying to avoid.