5 easy tips to help you achieve your goals and resolutions - By: Sam Sander

With New Year nearly upon us, it's time to start thinking about our goals and resolutions for 2010. And despite what you may have heard, setting achievable goals is easy! The hard part is in the implementation of these goals.

Here are some interesting facts about resolutions, as reported by Psychologists Janet Polivy and Peter Herman:
- 25% of New Year resolutions will be abandoned in the first 15 weeks;
- the average number of times an individual makes a New Year resolution is 10;
- people whose resolutions lasted for about 6 months or more often tried 5 or 6 times before they succeeded.

So don't feel too bad if you've been on the New Year resolution rollercoaster as well. But this year, make things different and achieve your goals, with these easy strategies:

1. Be reasonable
Know your weaknesses, define them and commit to improving yourself. Set yourself a goal to do everything reasonable to quit your bad habits and change your life for the better. If you ditch your bad habits, you'll feel more positive about creating new good habits and goals.

But you also need to have reasonable expectations. For example, you can't lose 20kg in one week! However, if you make a commitment to do more physical exercise every day, eat healthy food and allow a reasonable amount of time, then you can succeed and achieve your goal weight.

Also, make a resolution because it is right for you and will help you succeed in life and not because you want to please someone else, or because of social pressure. You can't please anyone until you've pleased yourself, and you will find it hard to commit to a goal that doesn't please yourself.

Set priorities and begin with small goals and resolutions, before working your way up to the big ones.

2. Don't bite off more than you can chew
Don't make too many goals and resolutions at once, as it will just be too difficult for you to keep them all, and because you won't end up keeping them all, you'll end up feeling disappointed and hopeless.

Make about 2-3 goals at a time. Be very clear about the bad habits that you want to quit and the goals that you really want to achieve.

Don't make a decision to quit a habit unless you're really ready for it, both mentally and physically. For example, setting an athletic level fitness goal when you're recuperating from a long illness probably isn't realistic, but you can set intermediate health and well being goals instead.

So, take it easy. Withdraw from habits slowly. For example, if you want to quit smoking, just start by cutting out 10 percent of your cigarette consumption per week. If you do this each week for 10 weeks, you'll have quit by the end but without the pain of serious withdrawal.

And stop blaming yourself for any bad habits. Just accept that you have bad habits, and commit to quitting them. Acceptance frees you slowly from the bad habits. Guilt and self- condemnation is negative energy that prevents you from cutting loose from the very habits that cause these emotions.

3. Read good books on a range of subjects.
Get into the routine of reading good books, articles and magazines because it is an excellent way to increase your knowledge and perspective. The more you read, the more educated, intelligent and sharp you'll be.
And this can be cheap to do. Go to your public library and borrow good books. Try the local book exchange if you have one.
You can also find good information and articles on the internet from reputable websites and article sites like this one, if you can filter through the spam.

You can always find time to read. All you need is 30 minutes a day. Just try reading instead of watching TV for a while.

4. Network with family, friends and colleagues.
Humans are social by nature, so go out and meet your friends and discuss their problems as well as yours. Join clubs, associations and groups and mingle with other people. Make friends where ever you go! By doing this, you'll gain insight into life and life's problems. This will help you better understand your own problems and how to solve them.

Communicate with other people. Phone, chat, E-mail, or whatever you're comfortable with. And understand what is going on in your city, state and the world by keeping up with current affairs.

5. Don't give up.
The one thing in life that is certain is change. Sometimes things will go your way and other times it will not. When life doesn't go your way, don't give up. Just get up and keep moving. Life is a rollercoaster, so learn to understand this fact now and accept it.

As long as you keep moving, one day you'll get where you're going.

About the Author

You can find out more about how to achieve all your goals and desires by checking out these FREE goal setting tools and resources . You'll also find lots of free advice and templates on a range of self-help topics from success to people skills.

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