Happy New Year and welcome to this first month of the year!

Many people at this time of the year are looking forward to a brand new year and all they hope this year will bring.

You may have made New Year’s resolutions and they are at the moment fresh in your mind and you feel determined to make them happen. You are possibly already taking action on those resolutions and that’s a great thing.

What’s important to realize here is that its easy to be determined and purposeful with your resolutions when everything is fresh and going smoothly. It takes so much more than that when the going gets tough. And as we all know, its not always plain sailing as the year moves forward, because change, challenge and growth are part of life.

When you hit the challenging times, it takes more than just hopefully focusing on that resolution, it takes commitment to a cause and that cause is you.

I checked Wikipedia for the difference between resolution and commitment. Wikipedia says

Resolution is a firm decision to do or not to do something and likens it to the words intention and purpose
• Commitment is the state or quality of being dedicated to a cause or activity and likens it to the words faithfulness, bond, devotion

I agree that both are important when you want to create change and if it’s a change you want for yourself it is that faithfulness and dedication to you that will see you through, no matter what challenges you face.

A commitment is unwavering, the same as that commitment you have to someone you are deeply in love with. You will do what it takes and you will often compromise your other wants to make sure the relationship is nurtured. You will often make that commitment official by moving in together or getting married to show your dedication to the relationship. When you do this you notice that the relationship becomes more rock solid, because the commitment is stronger.

It’s the same with your New Years resolutions, its important to make that commitment to you and to what you want to achieve for you. When you do this you will notice that the change becomes more rock solid and permanent, because you will compromise other things you want to do, to make sure you keep that commitment to yourself. And that kind of commitment all begins with making it official, setting a goal and writing it down, a little bit like a marriage license or a mortgage document.

Make the goal specific
When you make a goal specific you are giving yourself a defined destination to aim for. Put as much detail as you can in your goal. For example if you are wanting to improve your health. How will you know your health has improved? Will you be exercising regularly and fit? Will you be eating a healthy diet and weigh less or will you have more energy?

Make it measurable
When you make your goal measurable you give yourself a concrete criteria to aim for, it’s kind of like a goal post on a football field. Your goal needs to have numbers, measurements and amounts in it. So for example if it is a health goal, how will you know you have improved your health? How much will you weigh or how often will you be exercising and how often will you eat?

Write it “As if” it is happening right now
When you write a goal as if it is happening right now, you give your unconscious mind the message that you have achieved it and because of this you start thinking in a way that will help you achieve it. So write your goal in the present tense. For example “It is 31 December 2017”.

Make it realistic
When you make your goal realistic you make it more believable for your unconscious mind and because of this it supports you more. So make your goal realistic in the timeframe you have allocated.

It must be timed
It is very important that you goal is timed, because when you give it a date, you create a deadline and this means you will get off the starting line so you can meet it.

At the end of the day, if you truly want to create change it really does all come down to commitment and you must make that firm commitment to yourself. When you do this and make this commitment official, you will amaze yourself at what you can and will do.