New Years Resolutions - How to Get Results.

The New Year has long been considered a time to turn over a new leaf, make changes and set goals. I remember deciding at the beginning of every school year in early February that I was going to do all my homework, keep my books tidy and pay attention in class. Well that worked until about March and then it was downhill all the way from there.

Fortunately, I have learned that there is a process and a mindset in achieving dreams. Knowing how to do this enabled Warren Buffet to make his billions, Oprah to become Oprah, and Tony Robbins to be able to empower the whole world to find their passion, and YOU to succeed in your New Year's Resolutions.

Even if you do not sit down and write a list each year, you have probably muttered something about quitting smoking, or getting fit. When you choose a resolution, do you expect it to work, or hope it works this time? Or wonder why you even bother? If you have not had any success before now, it makes sense that you would not have any faith in writing a list, or your ability to make changes. But maybe the problem is not with your will power, or your ability, but in the process, and by making some changes, you could have a very different result. Tony Robbins talks about his experience learning golf. He became very frustrated as he kept hitting the ball in the wrong direction, but was amazed when his instructor said that he was only millimetres away from hitting the ball correctly. Tony took this idea, and realized that the difference between success and failure can be very small and require only tiny adjustments to get the result you want.

So how do you get results from your New Year Resolutions?

Start by writing a list of changes, dreams or goals that you would like to achieve. Don't worry too much about reality at this point, but include some big, and small items.

Next, go through this list and say the following “I want to (name your first resolution) because (give your reason why). Go through the whole list, and record your reasons why.

When you have finished, go back through the list, and cross off every item where your reason is, or is similar to, “because I should”, or “I have to”.

Hopefully, you will still have one or two items left on your list to work with! :)

If your “because...” is “I should” that reason would not be powerful enough to motivate you to stick with the resolution until you have succeeded. Your reasons need to be clear, very important to you, and to have strong emotional content for why you want to succeed. “I should” would give you a 1 on an 1-10 emotional scale. So now you need to look at your remaining items, and find out how many of them have reasons that would score a 10. An example of a 10 for a person who wants to buy a house, could be “ I have met the girl of my dreams and we are getting married. We both want to have children, and I want to provide a secure home in a safe environment. I do not want to have to move because the landlord has sold the house. As it will be harder to save money after the children are born I want to buy now while we have fewer financial commitments.” That beats “I should” any day.

At this point, you need to close your eyes and “see” your resolution completed and successful. Picture it being 31 December, 2010. Note where you are, what the weather is like, see your successful resolution. What does it look like? What does it smell like? What does it feel like? What does it sound like? Remember the reasons why you have chosen to achieve it. Know that those reasons will have been assisted or satisfied also.

Write out a clear description of your resolution. How will you know you have succeeded? What had to be done to be successful? For example, if you wanted to save up a deposit for a house, how much would you like to have in the bank in one year? How will you know you have succeeded?

Think about the last thing you did to complete your resolution. Write it down, and plan what you would have to do every week to reach your goal. If you use the deposit example, you would divide the amount by 52 to work out how much you need to bank each week. Do you have that amount of money available already, or what is it being spent on? Write a budget, and understand where your money is currently going. What could go wrong, and stop you achieving your goal? How can you prevent that happening?

Come back to the present, and take an action that starts the process to achieving your goal. For example, if you were saving a deposit, you could open a high interest savings account and start an automatic payment. As the year goes on, you will face challenges to your resolution. Most, if not all your challenges, will probably not score a 10, so your list of reasons, can be used to overcome obstacles which will occur along the way.

When you face an obstacle, review your reasons and remind yourself why this resolution is so important. Congratulate yourself on your success so far, accept that everyone faces challenges and that you will survive. Do not criticize yourself as it weakens your resolve. We all get things wrong sometimes, and that only matters if you give yourself permission to quit. Instead bring your focus back to your success. The skills you learn overcoming the difficulties, prepare you for bigger achievements.

You will face obstacles, but with planning, you could find that the whole process becomes smooth sailing. Your commitment and pride in your success, could encourage you to make this the first of many successful projects in the future.

I would like to wish you the very best in 2010. I would love to hear from you with any questions, or resolutions you have chosen. Come back during the year and give us an update, and encourage others to keep going.

From my family to yours, have a wonderful New Year.