How to plan now so you WILL achieve your goals for 2015

Why do so many of us commit to making New Year Resolutions immediately after what can be an extremely busy and stressful time of the year?

If you have failed to stick to your goals in the past, maybe now is the right time to start with a different approach.

Here are a few tips to start you on a successful path in order to see the results you want.

Identify your goals

There are many reasons why your good intentions may not have been previously successful. Did you set your sights too high? Did you allow enough time? Were you in the right frame of mind at the start?

A key starting point is not only to really know what you want but also why you want this. What will achieving this goal mean to you? For example, if you have decided to lose weight, rather than aiming to lose a dress/suit size or several pounds/stones, visualise how you will look when you have lost weight and how it will make you feel.

Recognising the positive outcomes can be a really good motivator.

Streamline your goals

Perhaps you have not succeeded or given up halfway by setting too many goals in the past- after all, you are only human!

If you have chosen something that may take some time to achieve (moving house or making a career change for example), opt to concentrate on just one or two big goals and a few smaller ones which can be spread over the course of the year.

Set achievable goals

Break down larger goals into more manageable chunks. If you plan to change your career, list the actions you need to make and prioritise them in the order you need to tackle them.

Using a mind map/spider diagram is one way of viewing all the things you need to consider and simply prioritise future activities in the most logical way in order to put your plans into action.

Write down your goals

This may seem obvious but many clients I work with simply announce what they are going to do and it all remains in their heads!

Once you know what you want to achieve, make sure you write everything down on paper and keep the list visible as a reminder.

Be flexible with your goals

Even with the best intentions it is important to realise that sometimes unexpected changes and life in general can get in the way.

So revise your plans every so often and make adjustments according to circumstances; there is no need to be slave to your original good intentions.

Look at previous patterns of behaviour to discover why you may have failed in the past. Try a different approach and see what happens. There is truth in the saying: 'If you travel along the same path you are likely to reach the same destination.'

Finally, everyone experiences periods of self-doubt at times. So don't be too hard on yourself and keep things in perspective. You may have put on a few pounds whilst on holiday, (having done so well with dieting beforehand) but surely this is better than not having lost anything at all.

So start afresh and maintain the momentum once again.