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2006 - the best year ever?

So here we are, with only 10 days of 2005 left.  Where did the year go?  It really doesn't seem 325 days since we were recovering from our hangovers on Jan 1st does it?

If I was to ask you what you have achieved this year how would you react?  Would you be able to list a whole plethora of things you have done that you are proud of, places you have been that you always wanted to go and things that you have attained that you always wanted.  Or would you feel a vague uneasiness that very little comes to mind?

It is a fact of life that we live in a very busy world which places constant demands on both our time and our energy.  Unfortunately there is not a enough of either to do everything and as much as I would like to wave a magic wand and give you one extra day per week, the fact is even if I did there would still never be enough to do everything.

That is why it is so important to be clear on what you want and to have a plan for how you are going to get it.  If you wait for that magical time in the future when the house is totally clean, when you have no to-do's on your list and your in-tray is empty to start making progress towards your dreams, then lets face it, it will never happen.

Now is the ideal time to decide what you want to achieve in 2006.  Follow these 4 steps and you will be able to look back on 2006 as one of your best years ever!

1.  Set aside 30 minutes to sit by yourself in a quiet, comfortable place and write down what is it that you want to be, to have and to do by 31st December 2006.  Make sure that the things you have written down are specific and measurable e.g. if you have written that you want to lose weight make sure you have stated how much, if you want to earn more money, how much more?  If the thing you want is an emotion (e.g. to be happier) then write down how you will know that you have got it - what will you be doing, hearing, seeing and feeling that tells you that you have achieved it?

2.  Choose the one thing off your list that you want more than any other.  What 3 things could you do that would take you one step closer to getting it?  Don't panic thinking we are looking for an action that will achieve the goal in one step.  We are just looking for something that will get you moving in the right direction e.g. look in the newspaper or on the internet to find out where and when your nearest weightwatchers group meet or block out an hour in your diary to sit down and start updating your cv.

3.  Choose one of your 3 options and DO IT!

4.  Repeat steps 2 & 3 till you have what you want!  It may sound simplistic but it really is as simple as that.  If you can continually keep taking small steps you will eventually get there.  It doesn't matter if you stumble a couple of times and actually take a step or two backwards so long as you then take action to get you moving in the right direction again.  No matter how big your dream may be or how long it may take, if you just keep doing the next thing that needs to be done, you will get there.

Fancy a bit of extra help to keep you on track?  E-mail me with a list of what you want to achieve this year and I will check in with you periodically during the year to see how you are getting on!

 I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy, healthy and prosperous 2006.

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"Never continue in a job you don't enjoy.  If you're happy in what you're doing, you'll like yourself, you'll have inner peace.  And if you have that, along with physical health, you will have had more success than you could possibly have imagined".

Johnny Carson