“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan Press On! has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.” — Calvin Coolidge

So you got off-track with your goal. It happens. Behavior change takes time and . Research on people who quit smoking, for example, shows that it takes several attempts before they finally quit for good. Beating yourself up over a short-term setback will only keep you stuck. Instead, forgive yourself, and use these five tips to start fresh today.

1. Just Get Started

A body at rest tends to stay at rest unless acted on by an outside force. Likewise, a body in motion tends to stay in motion. You may recognize that as Newton’s First Law of Motion, also known as inertia. But it seems to work the same when it comes to our mental processes. Once we stop moving, it takes some mental energy to get moving again. When you do get going though, it’s much easier to maintain the behavior.

The trick is to just get started.

This is deceptively simple. Obviously, you don’t feel like doing whatever it is you have to do, or you’d be doing it. But that’s mainly because of inertia. The trick is to do something – anything really – to get yourself moving again in the direction of your goal. According to , an expert on procrastination, once you get started, you’ll feel differently, not only about the task, but also about yourself:

3. Use Implementation Intentions

Part of the reason people never get back on-track with their goals is explained by how their goal is set (i.e., is it specific enough?). Another part of the problem, however, is there’s no clear plan for acting on the goal.

An implementation intention is a mini action plan that’s been scientifically proven to help you follow through on your goals. In one study, for example, women who wrote down an implementation intention specifying when and where they would conduct a breast self-examination did so 100% of the time. On the other hand, women who failed to create such a plan did so only 53% of the time.

An implementation intention takes the form of an if-then statement – if situation X arises, I will perform behavior Y. So, following my example from above, you might write down you implementation intention as follows: “If it’s 7:00am on Monday, Wednesday or Friday, I will go to the gym, and walk on the treadmill for 30 minutes.” Again, the key here is to be very specific.

4. Eliminate Distractions With Time Blocking

The demands on our time are greater now than ever. Likewise, never before in history have we faced so many possible distractions. If you jump every time your phone rings, a new email arrives or you iPhone buzzes, you’ll never get back on track with your goal.

When you create an implementation intention, you’re not only giving your rational mind specific instructions about what to do. You’re also making time in your schedule to actually do it. But you have to take it a step further. You have to set aside a specific block of time when your attention is dedicated 100% to working on your goal.

Time blocking works best if you set a definite start and end time when you have no other meetings or commitments. Lock your door, turn off your phone and make yourself unavailable for any other tasks. If the Internet is too tempting, download what you need ahead of time, and turn off your Internet connection during your time block.

5. Get an Accountability Partner

Research shows that when you share your goals and commitments with others, you’re more likely to follow through on them. My own experience confirms this. When I got off-track with my exercise routine a while back, I decided to start going to the gym with my girlfriend every morning. After a couple weeks, it became a sweet, little routine and something we both look forward to. When one of us occasionally lacks the motivation to get out the door, the other provides the necessary encouragement to follow through. Of course, now and again, we both decide to blow off the gym and go enjoy some time together at our favorite breakfast spot.

An accountability partner doesn’t have to be a spouse or significant other. It can be a coach, a friend, a colleague or anyone you trust and respect enough help you get back on track. When you keep your goals and commitments secret, it’s too easy to avoid changing your life and to drift back to old habits and routines.

It’s Never Too Late

As I said at the beginning, behavior change takes time, . Learn what you can from the short-term setback, then let it go. Start fresh today, and use the five tips above to get yourself back on-track with your goal.

“Supposing you have tried and failed again and again. You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing we call ‘failure’ is not the falling down, but the staying down.” — Mary Pickford