Now is the time to write your New Year resolutions.

"But we're almost at the end of January" I hear you cry. Precisely why now is the best time to revisit your resolutions. Most of us set resolutions, or goals, for the coming year at the wrong time, perhaps with heightened emotions due to the party atmosphere or being alcohol fuelled, we tend to make decisions with very little regard for what will soon reveal itself as our new year reality.

There is no reason why you can't or shouldn't set your goals for the new year on January 1st, however experience shows that most people never get past the first couple of 'attempts' of reaching their goal or past the first few months of the year, they get frustrated at how unreal and overly optimistic the goal was to start with and simply give up.

But you're not like that, right? Well you don't have to be and I'd like to share with you my thoughts on how you can set realistic and achievable goals for the New Year and actually achieve them.

Do you set the same resolutions each year and get the same results? Are you prone to procrastinating with that little voice in your head telling you "it's OK, you have all year to start trying for your goal"? Do you come up with an abundance of reasons why you haven't started along the path to achieving your goal? Don't worry; you're not on your own. Many people are like this. How would you feel if you became one of the minority who do reach their goals and stick to their new year resolutions with commitment and energy and enjoyment along the way? You can, you simply have to do one thing, take charge of the issue and TAKE ACTION.

You're obviously someone who wants to achieve things; I know that because you're still reading this article. Stick with it and I'll show you how to create a clear sense of purpose enabling you to stride forward with confidence into 2011.

There are 4 things you need to do up front before we set off:
1 Make sure you plan in the right place. What I mean is, take yourself to your favourite coffee shop, or to the library where you find it peaceful, or to the beach where you can be alone with your own thoughts. No matter where it is, find that place you love to be, you'll find planning your goals so much easier there. Give yourself the present of 'time for you' and go to that special place and begin.
2 Take this process seriously. YOU are the only one that can reach your dreams and goals so make sure you are true to yourself and do this process for you, not anyone else, YOU.
3 Make sure you distinguish between goals and aspirations. A goal is something that you achieve yourself without outside influence, whereas an aspiration is more of a target that others can influence. You have to be very careful when managing your own expectations about aspirations because it may not be any fault of yours whatsoever if you don't achieve it, setting proper goals that you influence is much more satisfying when you achieve them because you know it's all your own work.
4 There is a phrase one of my old managers used to use all the time and I love it. Set BHAGs she used to tell me. Big Hairy Audacious Goals are always the way to go. Aim high, don't set yourself a goal that you can reach in 2 minutes, make sure it's something that gives you that intense feeling of achievement when you've done it, something that you know has stretched you significantly along the way. Go for broke, plan and expect greatness. Small, safe goals can limit you. Small goals could make you hesitant or cautious, and that is no way to create the wonderful changes you are looking for and deserve. Aim high!

OK, so let's get to business. Your first goal for 2011, albeit not a BHAG itself, should be to create your list of goals! Yes, having a set of goals clearly written, being something you have a buzz about owning and achieving is always the first step.

You now have a once blank piece of paper that has your first goal on it. Next all you need to do is develop a list of everything you have ever wanted to do, everything. Project yourself several years into the future, perhaps in your latter years and imagine what all the things are that you have achieved in your life, you have done everything you wanted to do and done it well. Write down all these achievements, write them quickly, as soon as they come into your head, don't be bothered with all the restrictions you may think of; ignore all obligations, fears, costs or any other obstacles that may prevent you from adding an item to your list. Keep writing. Think about what it is you are telling your grand children about, what did you do? Keep writing. Visualise the broadest possible smile on your face as you are recalling all the adventures you have had through your life, feel like it's happening right now as you describe it. Keep writing.

Done? Wow, I bet you are surprised at what came out of your head! It came out because it's something you want to do, so do it. Let's be realistic here, you can't do all your lifetime achievements in 2011 so just pick a couple on your list and you can work on them to start with.

Let's take a quick sense check:
How committed are you now on a scale of 1 to 10 to reaching this goal in 2011? If you are at 7 or above then great, keep going. If you are lower than 7 it's highly likely you won't achieve this goal. Think some more about what it is you want the goal for, which of your values does it satisfy if you achieve it? Are you doing it for you or someone else? You must be committed up front to at least giving your goal a really good try. Is this goal one for now or for later? Be sure you are committed before you start and 'love' the idea of what you are looking to achieve.

"The day you catch an idea you fall in love with, even a small one, is a beautiful day."
David Lynch
Film maker and Television Director.

So let's try to give your goals a little more meaning. How specific is your goal? If it's a bit vague then it's no good, be very specific in what you want. "My golf handicap is 7.8" is much better than "I want a lower handicap".

By using numbers for example within your goal you can very easily measure progress, you can't check how you are doing against something that can't be measured in some way.

Are you being completely realistic with your goal? 'Being the first person to run a marathon under 4 hours' is something that can be achieved perhaps but not during 2011 from a standing start as a self-confessed couch potato. Even the elite athletes can't do it yet. Pushing your boundaries is fantastic and should be encouraged, but keep it real!

I've mentioned achieving your goals in 2011, which is fine, however to be more 'tight' as your goal, how about giving it a date by which you will achieve it? "I am a size 12 today, my birthday, September 8th', or "Today, September 24th, I am taking part in my end of season golf championships and my handicap is 7.8"

So you now have a couple of BHAGs. But don't stop there, BHAGs on their own may prevent you from even starting your journey because they seem so far away and realistic. Next then, you need to set yourself 'journey goals' or 'mini goals', whatever you wish to call them. They are goals that you create by 'chunking down' your BHAG to several stages. For example your BHAG could be that you will be in a size 12 dress by your birthday on 8 September, when you are several dress sizes larger at present.

That's a bit of a challenge but when you chunk it down it becomes much more manageable. To follow this example;
Break the BHAG down into 2 areas, diet and exercise;
Under exercise break it down into week day and weekend exercise;
Under week day break it down into work time and personal time;
Under work time you could commit to walk to work 3 times a week or park up and walk that last mile to work or if you park at work then walk round the block before going in every day.

You see how you can go from 1 large seemingly out of reach BHAG to loads of smaller, easily achievable and repeatable stage goals? You've moved backwards from the achievement creating ever smaller and specific stage goals, each very specific and tangible.
You now understand what needs to come first. Now my friend it's simply a case of TAKING ACTION, make that first step.

Now your goals a broken down and the smaller steps can be repeated they will gradually become habits and something you look forward to doing and achieving, rather than seeming like a chore. Habitual action creates results, intentions do not.

Of course you will need to spend time 'smoothing off the edges' of your newly created goals and stage goals, however once you have done that there is another hugely important step to follow:

Be accountable. Tell someone! Publish your decisions and ask people to encourage you along the way. "Secret" goals are merely wishes or hopes or dreams.

Above all, this is your life, so set your own rules and work at your own pace and remain true to yourself.

Paul Appleyard, MCIPD
Paul has been a life coach for 4 years and specialises in helping expats and people with varying levels of shyness. For further advice on setting and achieving your goals or to arrange a virtually free session with Paul, take a look at his website www.your-pathfinder-coach.comPlease feel free to reuse this article, however the author would request that the source is shown as www.your-pathfinder-coach.com