When a new year begins it is almost traditional to think of something you want to change in your life.  However, all too often New Year resolutions fall by the wayside and remain as just thoughts, never reaching fruition.

Losing weight is a popular resolution where many people set out their intention to get fit and lose weight in January.  Often with no instant results negative thoughts creep in and many people give up after only a few weeks, automatically predicting that it is too hard to maintain.  Sometimes it is difficult to see that the way we are thinking is faulty and unhelpful and could be the cause of abandoning what we set out to do, leading to unhappy feelings and behaviours.  Such as reaching for that cake!

But what about the many people who achieve their goals every day?  Setting them apart is positive thinking.  Athletes display evidence of it by not only training their body but their mind to focus on the end result.   Many people have the right mental attitude and positivity to reach their goals of losing weight, getting a new job or moving on from an unhealthy relationship, proving that we are all capable of achieving our goals.

So how can we set a goal and see it through to it’s conclusion?

The first thing to do is decide what that goal is; maybe you aimed for this before unsuccessfully, what stopped you or got in the way?  Really look at why and who was responsible for not achieving your goal?  Maybe the effort was too much or you let other people or situations get in the way.  Was the reality of what you would have to change or do to reach your goals all too much to maintain? Once you have looked at what goal you really want and taken a firm decision not to let anything get in the way, write it down in a journal and the small achievable steps required to get there.  Focus on these steps slowly and one at a time.

For example you may be unhappy in your job and want to change it.  Look at what is making you unhappy.  Is the workload too much? Or maybe you need an increase in salary.  Before looking for a new job, ask yourself what you can do to change things, then write down the steps required to achieve your goal, maybe one step would be to speak to your boss about your workload or to ask for a raise.  Break down what is required to make you happier into small achievable steps, if that is another job then you can look at the steps required to achieve that goal.

With any goal the focus is on the end result and the steps required to get there.  Remember you are the most powerful person in your life with the ability to change what you want to.

Realise your own potential and go for your goals.