“Living should be a continuous letting go of the past to discover great depth of innate’s future.” B J Palmer, founder of chiropractic

For those of us who have taken the opportunity in the New Year to make a resolution, it’s good to know how to help ourselves to keep them. The key lies in the difference between male and female psychology.

For MEN, the key to successfully keeping your new year’s resolution is to make your goal very SPECIFIC AND REALISTIC. This is to overcome their tendency to think about the end point without working out how to get there. As an example: the idea ‘I’m going to give up smoking’ becomes ‘I’m going to halve the number of cigarettes I smoke a day in January, and halve it again in February. In March I will allow myself up to three cigarettes a week. I will be a non-smoker in April.’

For WOMEN to be successful they often need to TELL EVERYONE about their resolution. Friends, family and work colleagues can be enlisted to provide support and encouragement, which can be quite practical. Make a regular date with a friend to meet them to do exercise together, or meet at a slimmers’ club, or make a daily phone call with a friend who has a similar resolution.

A good way to get started is to find two burning goals in each of the seven areas of your life (mental, physical, familial, vocational, spiritual, financial and social). Write them down on a piece of paper and put it up somewhere you can see it every day – like the fridge.

Use the SMART Goal checklist, by asking yourself: “Are my goals Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Tangible?” Make a timeline.

Action Steps

• Review your list of goals and see what you have accomplished and what needs to be accomplished.
• Check and re-check the things you did well and the things you can improve on. Congratulate yourself for always doing your best and always wanting to grow and better yourself.
• Read, feel and see your goals twice a day for ten days and then on a daily basis (visualisation).
• Always find a reward for achieving a goal.
• Find a person you can be accountable to.

Best of luck!

www.topachievement.com/smart.html

Source: BBC, Professor Richard Wiseman; John Hinwood D.C.

Adapted by Priscilla Stevens