Firstly, let me wish you the best year of your life so far, along with a few comments about the ‘challenges’ ahead.

Heraclitus of Ephesus (c.535BC – 475 BC) espoused the theory that:

“Everything flows, nothing stands still.”

In our hectic world where change is the only constant, it is important that we seek out and embrace change as a positive thing, when it is sometimes easy to fall into the trap of being fearful about what might go wrong.

Think back to ‘that person’ you were and ‘where’ you were a year ago, or five years ago, and you will realise that you have changed. It is inevitable because we constantly face new obstacles and we are constantly offered new opportunities. In many cases the opportunities appear, disguised as obstacles or problems.

The crucial thing is to create some time and space to think and to plan. Dream about the things you want to attract into your life and don’t forget to dream ‘big’ because dreams have no limits. The only limits we really have are the ones we place on ourself as a result of our own conditioning.

Figure out what it is that you need to do, figure out how you will become the person you need to be in order to have the things that you want and you can make them happen.

Most important then is to write them down – the act of writing the goals and putting a date by which you will achieve them helps you to make them real and credible to your conscious mind. Break the goals down into manageable chunks and think of some small rewards you can give yourself as you hit the progress targets. Read them out loud to yourself regularly – psychological research has proven that this makes your mind begin to believe that you can do it.

Here’s an example: A friend of mine wants to lose 15 kilos in weight – a daunting task and one with which many people in the Western World will start their New Year. Focussing on losing a kilo a week is far more likely to be achieved, perhaps rewarding yourself with a candy bar when you have lost 3 kilos, or waiting until the weekend to have one as a small reward.

She has a longer term picture of fitting into a certain dress size by a certain date, so the big picture is there for her to repeatedly visualise. Another crucial element though is emotion, because how we feel is a fickle thing.

By focussing on just how great she will feel when she is wearing her small dress, how sexy she will look and how much more confident she will be, these emotions will help her to conquer those days when the spirit may be willing but the conscious will is weak.

Knowing and constantly reminding yourself why you want to achieve these goals is the thing that will make you or break you.

It’s never too late or too early, you’re never too old or too young, too bright or too stupid, to go after the things you want for your life and to make them happen.

If you set a goal for this Year, in a year’s time you will still be a year older, whether you did achieve the goal or whether you didn’t.

So, let’s make this the New Year that will shape the most exciting year of your life so far!

Of course, one of the things I believe can help you immensely is to take a vacation, go somewhere on your ‘bucket list’ – a list of places to see and things to do before you ‘kick the bucket’ (die).

Check out these links or just contact me for some great ideas:

www.bucketlistholidays.com; www.holidayspecialsbali.com

or ask me about how you can stay in 5 star resorts around the world at 1 star prices!

So, until we meet again, make this ‘Your Year!’

Tony’s Viewpoint:

Dream, Plan, Believe, Do, Become and you can Have!