Did you make New Years resolutions?  Have you achieved them yet?  Are you stuck?  If you need some ideas to gain momentum, read on!  If you have already achieved your resolutions, congratulations and please leave a comment to share your success with others!

If you are feeling stuck, the following 5 Steps to Turning Your Resolutions Into Reality will help you move forward.

Step 1: Identify Challenges

Spend more time than you think you need on identifying challenges. If your general goal is to make more money, spend time identifying what gets in your way of making more money. I also recommend brainstorming with someone to help you think through the challenges that you are facing.

Step 2: Set Goals

Focus on setting SMART Goals that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely.

Specific:

• By being very specific you increase your changes of achieving your goals. If you want to get more organized, be specific about what you want to organize and how organized you want it to be. For example, if you want to organize your desk, you want to think about what area of your desk is most troublesome and how you can phrase your goal to ensure you tackle your biggest challenge.

Measurable:

• Measurement is key to making sure that you know when you reach your goal. For a simple illustration, think of a weight loss goal. It is much more meaningful to say I want to lose 10 pounds than to say I want to lose weight. You can apply this to other challenges too.

Attainable:

• It is key to have attainable goals to ensure you do not give up before you reach success. Looking at an organization goal, if your whole office is disorganized right now, it might be too overwhelming to get and keep the whole office organized. You might want to start with a specific area or even one desk drawer.

Realistic:

• Similar to Attainable goals, this characteristic helps my clients to keep moving towards their goals

Timely:

• Putting realistic deadlines using specific dates is key to your success.

It is also important to visualize your goals. I  recommend that my clients post their goal somewhere that they can see it. If you artistically inclined you can make a picture – if not, find a picture on the internet or post a written version of your goal so you can see it.

Step 3: Action Plan

When developing your action plan, keep a few simple principles in mind.

• Take small steps and you will make progress towards your resolutions.

• Post a checklist as a reminder of your action plan

• Reward yourself with something that is valuable. During our teleclass on this topic, Cheryl Heppard and I discussed, rewards do not need to be  expensive, but they do need to mean something to you. Be creative with your rewards.

Step 4: Take Action – START!

Do not wait for your plan to be perfect before you implement it. If you look for perfection you might let key opportunities for improvement pass by you. Also remember to keep with your action plan for at least 21 days to develop a new habit. It might be 28 days or even a couple months if you are making a major change. When you are taking action, remember to give yourself positive feedback, celebrate your wins and keep going after setbacks.

Step 5: Measure Success

Whether you use a scale, financial report, checklist, journal or another tool you must measure success and track progress. If you don’t, you’ll never really know if you have achieved your goal and when it is time to move on to the next goal. It also helps to discuss your goals with a coach, spouse, business partner, friend or other supportive person in your live.