5 Strategies for Maintaining Your New Year’s Resolutions

With February just beginning the thought of sticking with your New Year’s resolutions might sound as appealing as scraping wallpaper off of drywall. It’s understandable why: The vast majority of people make and break their resolutions within a few weeks’ time. They fall back into their old ways, and they convince themselves their resolutions were too hard to keep anyway.

You don’t need to be part of the vast majority. In fact, 2012 can be the year that you separate yourself from the masses and keep every resolution you make.

Here are five ways to help you stay on track:

1. Set realistic objectives.

You probably can’t change jobs, launch a nonprofit organization, revamp your kids’ parent-teacher organization and start a community garden all in one year. You can always keep certain goals on the back burner, but chunk down your goals into just a few that you can realistically meet within a year’s time.

For longer-term goals, such as how to plan for retirement, choose a few to-do items that get you closer to your goals. For example, you can commit to putting more money in your 401(k) and creating a retirement planning guide with your financial planner. Establish time frames that are believable to you, and monitor your progress regularly.

2. Get an accountability partner.

Find someone who has similar goals with whom you can check in frequently. If you want to run a marathon, find a running partner and schedule regular runs. You’ll be more likely to show up for a run if you know someone is waiting for you. Keep track of your progress together, and share the results of your training.

3. Establish a reward system.

Even small rewards will help to keep you motivated. The reward should be tied directly to the goal. So, if you make an extra few hundred bucks in your business, rather than going on a spending spree or blowing every extra dollar on a latte, put some of that money in a savings account that will let you save up for a larger purchase. Post a picture of the item on your refrigerator. You’ll stay motivated to obtain that reward and will work that much harder to get it.

4. Revisit goals as needed.

Your goals may shift with the economy, life changes such as a new home or a new baby, a big move or other key events. Revisit your goals every few months to be sure they still encompass everything you hope to get out of life. Make any necessary tweaks to ensure you achieve the desired outcome.

5. See yourself succeeding.

Use your imagination to visualize yourself with your goals realized. Get a journal and log your thoughts and feelings about your accomplishment. Post photos of images that symbolize your success. Mentally associate with people who have what you want — not the naysayers who doubt your potential.

Bit by bit, you can meet all the goals you set forth in 2012. As long as you commit to specific action steps, you’ll not only keep your New Year’s resolutions, but also finish the year better off than when you started it.

Felicia Gopaul helps consumers understand how to plan for retirement, save for college and plan for the future. With insightful articles and advice featured at FeliciaGopaul.com and College Funding Resource, she offers easy-to-understand tips for consumers seeking better, smarter ways to manage their finances. As part of her New Year’s resolutions, Felicia will be sticking to a new fitness plan, reading motivational books and spending plenty of quality time with her daughters.

Why You Don’t Need To Include Change In Your Goal Setting!

Many people fail with their goal achievement, because they hope that simply setting a goal is enough – that once you have set a goal, the rest will magically happen without any action or any change. In this article I’m going to examine this by explaining the only time you can set goals without including change…

The fact is, the only way you can set goals without including change is to set a goal of ‘keeping everything the same’.

That may seem obvious, churlish even, but it’s a hugely important point which can be pivotal to whether you succeed or fail with your goals. If you set your goal as ‘keeping everything the same’, then you won’t have to change anything to achieve it, right?

After all, we all know that to keep repeating the same actions will keep bringing the same results. The trouble is, life will come along and throw a spanner in the works, and that spanner can be classed as ‘unexpected change’.

So, even if you did set a goal of changing nothing, of remaining in the safe and comfortable status quo, it’s unlikely to work in the long term, because life *will* throw change at us. It really is a case of when, not if.

That’s introduced the 2 points I want to make with this article, so let’s look more into what practical steps you can take to incorporate them into your goal setting…

Start small

Armed with the knowledge that change is essential in the achievement of goals, if we are afraid of change at the outset, it’s important how we phrase that change in our plan.

In the goal setting stage, when you lay out the steps you will take to get you from where you are now to where you want to be, most if not all of those steps will bring change. Although some of them may be massive changes, lots of those will be a way down the road, and some of the first steps you need to take will be small ones.

Make the small ones the priority!

Don’t worry about the big ones down the road – they will come in due course, but they won’t come at all unless you make the small changes to start with. So, don’t focus on big changes, focus on the small ones, as this will massively reduce the fear factor which stops so many people dead in their tracks.

In your written plan of action, look at the first step, and then break that step down as far as you can, into as many smaller steps as you can. Each time you do this you are reducing the size of the change you need to accept.

Accept the inevitability of change

Change happens to us whether we want it to or not. The physical ageing of our bodies is a good example of this, but other examples will come as a complete surprise.

By definition, those surprise changes cannot be planned for in advance, but you can develop your way of reacting to change, and a good exercise for this is to look to your past.

In the majority of cases, things we feared never ended up being as bad as we thought they would, and reminding ourselves of this is very helpful in developing an acceptance of change.

Take your pen and paper, and write down 3 examples of your past experiences which were not as bad as you had thought they would be. Three examples, and they must be from your own experience.

Writing them down will help to drive them home as memories you can draw on for support. It won’t be hard to think of 3 examples, and in fact once you start you will probably end up with a whole list.

Combine two steps for maximum results

So to sum up, remind yourself with your own experiences that change is rarely as bad as it may appear beforehand. Although it would be naïve to suggest that all change is nice, it certainly is true that most of the time change is not awful – a big difference.

You can combine this with focusing on small changes in your goal setting plan. If you use both these exercises, you move from someone who reacts to inevitable changes that life brings, to someone can ride those changes.

There is more though – you will also move to someone who takes control of change by making them yourself, steering them to your own purpose, and that’s a powerful foundation to drive some serious goal achievement!

So although it might be nice to think we don’t need to include change in our goal setting, that is a limiting mindset, and it must be accepted that change is a key element to the whole process.

Gordon Bryan is a UK writer about goal setting who has followed a powerful formula for over 25 years. He is passionate about sharing it with others, and reveals it in his free 8 Step Goal Achievement Formula.

That Goal is Achievable! 8 Tips to Making it Become a Reality

Setting Intentions vs Setting Goals

Have you heard the phrase before that you are the creator of your reality? When I first heard that, I thought it was a fascinating idea, but I never understood how the process actually works in reality until I came across the idea of setting intentions for myself. Everyday this process amazes me and the results are so exciting.

I’ve shared this insight with several of my clients and came across the same question. What is the difference between setting an intention and setting a goal? There is a subtle distinction between these two that makes a huge difference in the outcome and in the experience.

When we’re setting a goal, we think realistically. We analyze our current situation and plan out steps on how to reach our goal. Setting goals is based on reasoning and creating a plan. Setting a goal is very cognitive process of analyzing, planning and reasoning. We are in control of the plan and of all the steps how to get there. But as you know life comes between you and your goals sometimes. Something happens and you can’t do what you had scheduled. It is hard to stay on track because there are so many distractions. Can you identify with this?

There is another way of getting to where you want to be. Setting an intention is a similar process like setting a goal, but the difference is that you don’t plan out the way how to get there. You just intend the outcome and surrender the process to the universe. It is like making a wish. One requirement that the intention has is that it comes from your heart. It has to be something you really want. It does not come from the reasonable you but from the alive you. It is not created out of fear but our of love. If you’re aware of the battle inside of you between the heart and the mind you know that many times what the heart wishes for the mind destroys with many reasons.

Setting an intention is like setting the reasons on the side for a while and just intending with your heart the outcome of certain situations that would be exciting and inspiring for you. Try it out with little things first.

- Think of the day/week/trip ahead of you. What are some of the situations you will be facing?

- How would you like the outcome of these situations to be for them to be exciting and inspiring for you? Don’t worry if you don’t know how it could happen. Just think of what’s the most exciting outcome.

- Intend it, write it down, put it in safe place and then let it go. Release it in your heart to the universe and don’t worry about how it will happen. Just know that the process will be successful. Then you can go about your life having fun and not stressing about every step.

Seems so easy right? It is that easy, but some of the challenges that come up for people with setting intentions are really knowing what it is they want and letting go of the control over the process of reaching the outcome.

What is it that you really want? We have so many thoughts and reasons in our heads, influenced by the constant influx of information, people’s opinions, self-judgment and other factors. Sometimes it can be hard to know if we want something because we want it or because someone else said we should want it. So how do you know the difference between the two?

There is a simple tool to figure out what is your real desire and what is your “I should.” What you want and desire is exciting and inspiring. It comes right out of your being. What you “should” causes stress, anxiety and even depression. It comes from a judgment of how things should be rather than your creative self. So if you are setting an intention or a goal stop and really listen to your emotions. Your emotions and your heart, not your mind, is your guide to know what is right. If something feels right you’ll know right away.

Another challenge is letting go of control. We are so used to thinking that we are in control of our lives. We fear the unknown and create safety nets around us preventing us from falling down. These safety nets become so tight that pretty soon we feel like we’re stuck in the reality we created. But we are afraid of letting go because even though they choke us to death we know they are safe. Does that sound familiar? We want to be in control of every step on our way to our goals and this creates a lot of stress if things don’t go as planned. Letting go of control is about trusting that the universe will fulfill your intentions.

In the beginning it can be very hard, especially with our skeptical mind and all the reasons that it creates. But as you try this process more and more your trust in the goodness of the universe will grow. You won’t be feeling like you’re taking risks by letting go of your safety nets and you will understand that life is a great adventure and fun. Letting go of control creates space in your life where the magic happens. Then there is no more stress, no more worry. There is only peace and lots of love.

So get out there and start creating your life! Set some extraordinary intentions for yourself and enjoy the ride!

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by Sarka Ruzickova
Visit her at http://sarkaruzickova.com/

The Top 5 Mistakes You Could Be Making While Trying to Achieve Your Goals

If you know where you’re going then there’s a chance that with the right conditions you can get there. It doesn’t matter how intelligent, how dedicated, how inspired you are, you can’t get where you want to be in terms of BEING, DOING and HAVING what you want, unless you have goals that keep in you on track.

Why is that?

It’s because in the world you live in today, there is so much stuff trying to get your attention, that if you’re not careful and aware of it, it can easily take you in a direction you never would have chosen. For example, the television is a great invention, but does it control you, do you always watch what you want, or do you succumb to watching anything sometimes?

The television like other tools in life can be used to pull you into buying, spending time and believing all sorts of things. The price you pay is that one day you realise time’s passed you by and you haven’t achieved what you wanted, and you’re not even sure how it happened.

Goals are what you use to keep you going where you want to go, doing what you want to do. Like the most important things in life, there is an art and science to setting and achieving goals, by avoiding these top 5 mistakes you can ensure you reach your goals:

1. Thinking You Can Reach Your Goals With Enough Willpower.

Don’t wear yourself out, willpower alone won’t get you where you want to go, being the person who you were meant to be. Reaching your goals means taking small steps, knowing your priorities and taking daily action. It’s the accumulation of the steps and daily action that gets you where you want to go. And yes, you also need to be disciplined, determined and believe in yourself, to ensure you make that daily action towards your goals a high priority.

2. Not Knowing Why You Want It.

If you don’t know why you want your goals, you’ll get pushed and pulled off course by circumstances. Your goals represent your life plan, they’re a part of who you are. Make sure you know what you want and why you want it. You may say you want a certain car and have a goal plan to work towards buying one, but why do you want one? Explore the feeling of having the car. Human beings do stuff because of the “feeling”. What’s the feeling you’ll get from achieving your goal?

3. Unrealistic Goals.

Make sure you’re being honest about what’s achievable where you are in your life now. Otherwise you’re setting yourself up to fail. Be your best friend or Coach, if your goal is a big one, break it up into smaller goals. The more small goals you achieve the bigger your belief in reaching the end goal will be. Small incremental goals equals massive change and results in your life.

4. Don’t Confuse Activity With Achievement.

Reaching your goal is going to take “right action” activities. Figuring out the “right action” to take is what you learn to do when you’re moving daily towards your goal. Listen to your intuition and gut feeling and decide what is the most important activity now. Remember to be flexible, to review daily what you’ve achieved and decide what’s necessary for the following day. A goal plan must be flexible in nature so you can take notice of feedback and achievements along the way.

5. Doing It In Your Own.

The best performers, athletes and entrepreneurs’ in our world have achieved their success through the support of coaches, managers and people who believed in them. Goal setting is a process that can be learnt. Reaching your goals may mean you have to overcome limiting beliefs that are holding you back, this doesn’t have to stop you achieving whatever success means to you. There are people who can help you. Just ask, model people who inspire you, learn what they know, and then do it your way!

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To learn how to set and achieve goals, visit http://www.fayhartwell.com. Fay can help you get clear on what you want and teach you the strategies you need to overcome worries, fear and problems. Don’t get in your own way, you deserve to achieve your goals and be happy.

Top Ten Ways to Get Back on Track and Achieve the Success You Desire

1. Notice Quickly.

The sooner you notice that you’re off course, the easier and faster it is to make a correction.

This can be done by being super clear about what you want and constantly monitoring where you are in relation to it. Good metrics and feedback mechanisms can make a substantial difference and result in small corrections rather than lengthy and expensive ones.

2. Correction Without Invalidation.

Most people expend far too much energy making themselves wrong for being off-course. Winners spend little to no time being upset for not being further along or having made mistakes. They notice, they learn and they move on.

3. Get Back to Your Goals.

Many times we simply lose sight of our goals. That’s why it’s so important to be clear on them and to keep them in front of you. Write them down and post them where you will see them-often.

I recommend having your top three goals specifically defined, measurable, action-oriented (you have to do something to get there), realistic (at least to you) and timely (a deadline).

4. Revisit Your Why.

The reason you want to achieve a goal is critical. Reasons come first, answers come second. If you have a big enough why, the way to achieve your goal will become clear. And your desire will go a long way toward keeping you on track.

When you HAVE to have something, it’s a lot harder to get off track-at least for very long.

5. Set Your Priorities.

Knowing your core values helps you make better decisions. It enables you to become better at establishing your priorities (see our popular Core Values Course).

And when your priorities are clear, you’ll spend far less time agonizing about what you should do next.

6. Get an Accountability Partner.

Most of us are used to being directed by a boss or we work with a team of people who help us stay on track and be more accountable.

If this isn’t the case, team up with someone else and work on your goals together. It’s more fun, you’ll be better at keeping your promises and you’ll make greater progress. When you get off track, you’ll refocus more quickly.

7. Join a Mastermind Team.

Even better than an accountability partner is having a team of people who support each other in getting clear, staying focused and taking consistent, productive action.

We call our Diamond Club members an organized benevolent group of butt-kickers. Benjamin Franklin had his junto, companies have boards of directors; you should have your own mastermind team. They just work. To find out more about Diamond Club, go here…

8. Minimize Distractions.

Many entrepreneurs suffer from BSO syndrome (Bright and Shiny Objects). And we all get distracted by things that interest us and things we’re obligated to take care of.

But the more we can minimize them, notice quickly when they occur and then refocus, the faster and easier we will achieve our objectives.
A great acrostic for Focus is Focus on One Course Until Successful.

9. Make it Fun and Interesting.

The more fun we can make things, the easier they are to do. And the less chance we will be distracted by other interesting things.

Take a lesson from Tom Sawyer and make the whitewashing of your fence seem fun. A lot of times, it’s how we look at things that determines whether it’s work or play. Make a game of it. Enroll some other people. CHOOSE to have fun with it.

10. Become Confident in Your Plans of Actions.

Let’s face it, if we knew for sure that following a course of action would lead to achieving our goal, we would do it, right? It would be a lot harder to fall off the path.

One of the reasons why we don’t stick to something is that it’s not guaranteed that we will win. Most people have jobs because they know they’ll get paid at the end of the week-although even that isn’t so certain any more.

But if you knew for certain that if you took these particular steps in a certain order and in a certain fashion you would prevail, you would stay on track a lot better.

By researching, testing and studying successful practices, we can increase our confidence in our plans and activities. And the more confident we are that we will succeed, the more likely it is that we will stay on course.

Review these tips from time to time to help you stay on track-or get back on track quickly.

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Michael Angier is founder and CIO (Chief Inspiration Officer) of SuccessNet – A support network helping people and businesses grow and prosper since 1995. Get their free Resource Book ($27 value) of products, services and tools for running your business more effectively. And most of the over 150 resources are FREE to access and use.

http://SuccessNetResources.com

http://SuccessNet.org

7 Ways to Making – And Keeping Your Goals (That You May Not Know)

Did you know that most people don’t make goals – but those that do swear by them?

Guess which ones feel more in charge of their life?

If you have been struggling, like I did for years, with the concept of making goals… how to find a balance between going with the flow and feeling on purpose… and then how to stay feeling positive despite outcomes that seem to be contradictory you may find a few clues here….

1. START WITH LITTLE GOALS AND BUILD UP -

If you feel a bit funny about trying goals try little ones first.

One of my first goal’s list included a new pair of jeans that looked good. That may sound funny but when I got them and the other stuff on that little wish list my confidence grew enough to try something a bit bigger till now, where I draw whole written pictures of how I would like my life to be. And my life often re-aligns itself to that picture very quickly!

2. WRITE THEM DOWN -

90% of people don’t write down their goals, but if you ask ANY of those who do they will tell you that writing them down is the key to achieving them.

Once they are written down they just seem to happen of their own volition. Intention is a powerful things and once we write down something we start to really mean it! I think the Team takes notice!

3. KEEP THEM CLEAR -

Spend some time getting really clear about what you want. What does it look like, feel like and how would life be different with it.

It’s good to make a time frame for it and to take time to think how it would contribute to the world – rather than just making your life better.

And as for goaling to win Gold Lotto, it doesn’t really work – what you want has to be achievable by you, not by Lady Luck!

4. IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU WANT THEN GO FOR THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT YOU DON’T WANT -

Lots of people don’t do anything because they are not sure about what they really want. But they usually know what they don’t…. So, get clear about what is not working in your life.

For example; if you don’t like your job then figure out what you would like in a job; if you don’t like not being able to pay the bills then goal to pay the bills easily and on time; if you don’t like being alone make an intention to have a great companion.

You do need to be as clear as you can be. If you just ask for a great companion you may find a wonderful dog rocks up into your life. But then again, maybe that is perfect for right now!

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Lesson 2: The One Question You Must Answer Before You Take Action.

There is one question you must answer before you start achieving your goal.

Failure to answer that question will result in lack of motivation and failure to follow the plan.

Take a piece of paper and answer this question in writing:

WHY do you want to achieve your goal?

No, not just because “I want”. There are reasons behind your dreams, usually dozens of them.

And if you realize why you want to reach your goal, you’ll be most likely to follow your plan till the end.

For example, why would you want to lose 15 pounds in 2 months?

• To look good
• To feel good about yourself
• To fit in your favorite dress
• To impress your spouse
• …

List every single reason. Try to imagine all the benefits.

The truth is the longer the list, the stronger your motivation will be.

Read your reasons first thing in the morning. Even better, frame them and hang them on the wall. It will keep you focused and motivated.

Lesson 1: The Most Important Rule Of Writing Your Goals Down That You Must Follow If You Want To Achieve Success

Most of us already know that it is vitally important to write your goals down.

The simple mechanical act of writing makes your goal visible and tangible. That’s no longer just a thought!

Now it’s a commitment.

But there is one rule you must follow to succeed that very few know.

It’s not enough to write your goal down…
… You have to describe it in complete detail!

Make it as specific as possible.

Compare:

“I want to buy a new home”

and

“I want to live in a new two story gorgeous Victorian style home with 4 spacious bedrooms, luxurious living room with a fireplace and hardwood floors. I will enjoy my large backyard with swimming pool and patio…”

“I want to make a lot of money” is not the goal.

It’s just a wish.

“I want to make $10.000 monthly with my business by July 1st.”

Now that’s the goal.

After writing your goal down in complete details don’t forget to make it visible! You can write it on a yellow note and stick it on your computer. Or even better. Print it so it would fit 4×6 picture frame, then frame it and put it on your desktop. You can also print it on your business card and put it in your wallet.

Try to surround yourself with little reminders.

This will help you to stay focused on your goal and create a clear mental image of what you want.

The Most Popular New Year’s Resolutions – Approaching Them the Successful Way

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