Go for gold and make 2012 the year you achieve your goals, says top performance coach and NLP trainer Don Macnaughton
Go for gold and make 2012 the year you achieve your goals, says top performance coach and NLP trainer Don Macnaughton2012 is a great year to blow away the cobwebs and make the changes you’ve always wanted to make. While team GB prepares for the London Olympics, you can be preparing for your own golden year by thinking about your ‘team’ and doing some mental preparation ahead of the bells.
One of the really important things about goals and how to make them happen is choosing the ‘team’ of people who are around you. This might be your partner, friends, parents and colleagues. You know yourself who on your team helps you already, who encourages you to push harder, to be bolder and those who are having a negative effect – people who encourage you to stay out too late, to settle, to do the things you know aren’t right for you. Start to get smart about who is on that team, and make sure they are on your side and pulling towards the same goals you are. Cut the deadwood and don’t be afraid to make tough choices.
New year’s resolutions
Most of us will have set some new year’s resolutions last month, even if we don’t speak them out loud. Most of us will also fail to keep those new year’s resolutions, because we don’t speak them out loud. Language describes but, more importantly, creates our possible future. The new year is the perfect time to set these goals (and that’s all resolutions are; goals) because we feel that we can put the past behind us and step forward into a new time, mind frame and consciousness. Of course the truth is you could do this at any time of the year, we’re just in the habit of only doing it in January, but February is just as good! The major issue with this is that we’re all trying to lose weight and be active at a time of year when it’s dark and cold outside and our motivation all seems to be geared towards staying in and being lazy.
It is incredibly important to have commitment and then recommit to these goals every morning despite how we feel
GIVE IT YOUR ALL
Whatever your goals are for this year, you’ll have a better chance of achieving them if you give it 100 per cent. It is incredibly important to have commitment and then recommit to these goals every morning despite how we feel. It seems obvious, but if your heart isn’t really in something, you won’t be giving it all your attention, and that makes it ten times harder. Most of us know what we should be doing to be happy and successful but having the focus and making the effort sometimes escapes us.
The intention to change
The importance of continued belief is vital. Goals are set with thinking and achieved by action but you have to really believe to truly achieve. Believe and act – belief in your ability to learn, change and do whatever it takes to achieve your goal despite perhaps not immediately achieving it.
Changing the habits of a lifetime takes thought, focus and willpower. The good news is that once you’re set up in your positive actions and practise them, these too become habits. Having the intention to change, following it with the actions to create change and then having the will to succeed is the first step to realising your dreams and getting where you want to go.
3 WAYS TO MAKE THE CHANGE
The key to succeeding is to know what success is for you; whether it’s about improving your business or career, losing weight, making more money or improving your working and personal relationships, here’s the starting point for making it happen for you:
KEEP IT REAL
Set yourself challenging but realistic goals. There’s nothing more disheartening than getting halfway there and realising you’re never going to make it to the top.
MAKE IT CLEAR
Write down your goals. Write in your best handwriting on some beautiful paper and keep it somewhere you can look at it every day.
SAY IT LOUD
Nothing is stronger than the power of repetition. Stand in front of a mirror and repeat your goal, using positive language, every day, twice a day if you want to. Make sure you use ‘I can’ and ‘I will’. Notice how your self-confidence increases.
Of course, setting goals is only the beginning; there is more to being successful than simply stating your goals and waiting for them to happen. If it was that easy we would all be in a permanent state of bliss. Ask yourself what you need to make your goals a reality; do you have all the skills and tools at hand to make it happen? If the answer is no (and it often will be) then ask yourself who around you has what you need. Can you go on a course, or read a book that will provide you with the necessary equipment? Sometimes you won’t know what you need, but there will be people around you who can help with that, people who are on your ‘team’.
Being successful doesn’t happen overnight. Keeping your motivation going can be difficult, so remember to encourage yourself by setting smaller goals along the way. A sense of achievement can work wonders in keeping your motivation going. Don’t give yourself a hard time. None of us are perfect, we all stumble and trip, so relax about it, get up and begin again.
The 12 Hidden Laws of Performance by Don Macnaughton is available on Amazon priced £8.99. Visit the12lawsofperformance.co.uk for more information.
Article by
Dan Macnaughton
Top performance coach and NLP trainer
Author of The 12 Hidden Laws of Performance
Discover more
Article by
Dan Macnaughton
Top performance coach and NLP trainer
Author of The 12 Hidden Laws of Performance
Discover more
By Dan Macnaughton
By Dan Macnaughton 
