There are many areas in life when success is within our reach and we don't realize it. What we want most is right there, but we don't know it. How can this be? And, how can we avoid these near misses in the future?

The cause and the cure are often the same. The cause: we don't try often enough, for long enough, and we lack the required intensity. The cure: increase your frequency of concentrated effort. Increase the duration you exert this effort. And, increase the intensity with which you work on your projects and ideas.

Exercise is a very good example of the power of frequency, duration and intensity, in that order. Those who do not exercise at all, have no frequency. So, the first step must be to increase the frequency of exercise to at least once a week. Once you have your frequency up to 4 to 6 times per week, the next step is to increase the duration. Initially, a sedentary person might only walk for 5 or 10 minutes. However, with consistency in their frequency, their duration can quickly increase to 30 to 45 minutes per walk. Finally, after frequency and duration are at good levels, to increase ones physical conditioning, we increase the intensity of your walks. The easiest ways to do this is to first walk faster and then perhaps add in walking up and down hills or other inclines.

Isn't it easy to see the mental and physical benefits of this type of progressive exercise training? Using this process, the once sedentary person becomes the physically fit person in about 6 months. How? By increasing first their frequency to more times per week. Then, increasing how long they walk. And finally, by increasing the intensity or difficulty of their routine. The person who already exercises regularly can also benefit using this process by gradually increasing each of the three in their routines.

Exercise is probably the most familiar example of how frequency, duration and intensity inter relate. However, they can help you in many areas of life. Do you want to read more books? Do you want to start a hobby? Do you want to earn more money? With each of these, look for ways to increase your frequency and duration of working on them by dropping non productive habits or ritualized behaviors. Work on your time management skills and you will find the time for frequency and duration. Then when you do work on your projects or goals, be intense. Avoid distractions as much as possible. Stay focused, and concentrate on one activity or project at a time. Don't try to "multi-task;" that is a myth. Focused attention to the completion of a logical segment of a project is the most productive approach.

Whenever you face a challenge, whenever you feel you've experienced a setback, or whenever you wonder why you have not made more rapid progress, look at the situation. Ask yourself if frequency, duration or intensity might have caused the current situation? It takes self honesty and self awareness to assess this accurately sometimes. However, it is worth the effort. And you will often find one of the three is the cause of the problem. The good part about that is, that same one, either frequency, duration, or intensity will also be the solution to that problem.