Most people fail because of a lack of clarity and commitment.

What do you want to change or achieve in the New Year 2014?

For most of us, change is something we are not very committed to. We tend to avoid it and pretend that someday soon we will get to making our lives the way we really want them to be. Maybe next week, or sometime after that, we will finally do that thing we know we really need to do. But we just need to find more time. Sound familiar?

For the adventurous people who actually make New Year’s resolutions, 25% have given up in just the first week. That’s a troubling reality. The commitment continues to drop day by day, and within the first 30 days, close to 40% have decided that they don’t want those resolutions after all. So nothing changes. How do you think they feel?

Overall, most of us just are not very good at motivating ourselves. Time to fix that!

Here’s what you need to know if you want to greatly improve your results and make 2014 your best year ever:

1. Get Clarity- Decide what you really want. What do you want to achieve, change, do, have or become in 2014? What specifically?

It’s essential that you get totally clear on that result. The more clear the better. Saying that you want to lose weight is not enough. How much exactly? Saying you want to eat healthier will not get you what you want. What does that mean exactly? Saying you want to grow you business won’t get it done. People do not achieve ambiguous goals and dreams. They do get their specific outcomes.

Once you have clarity, write down the things that you want. Research proves that success happens faster and greater to those with written goals vs. non written goals. Use the power of writing them down if your results matter to you. Write down your resolutions.

2. Know Your Why- Why this particular goal? Why do you want this specific thing compared to the other countless things you could go after? What’s the benefit to you? What will it give you? Is it tangible? Is it compelling? Is it really important to you? What’s the purpose in having it happen? Your WHY gives you your motivation.

What is the cost of not achieving this resolution…what is the price you will pay in your life by not making this happen? Is it a big deal to you? All of these reasons are your leverage to get your results. The more the better. Write down why you want these resolutions.

3. Got a Strategy? What are you going to do to make this happen? What’s your plan? Gotta have a plan. You can’t just wing it or it will never happen. By the way, hope is not a strategy. Saying or thinking “I hope it happens” takes your personal power away.

What do you think you really need to do in order to make your resolutions happen? Now make a list of all those things. Write them down. Yup, more writing…. Next decide which of those you will do…time for some practical honesty here. If you want to lose 20 lbs yet decide that you won’t change your diet, what will you actually do?

Looking at that list, what are the few things that will give you the biggest bang for the buck result. The greatest payoff usually comes down to a small number of things. You can quickly simplify your list to the several strategies that will create the greatest results. The 80%-20% rule applies here. If you focus on the most effective 20% of things to do, you will achieve 80% of the outcomes you want.

Will you commit to doing that 20% at a minimum, and then resolve that you will do those things no matter what? This is the commitment you really must make to yourself if you want anything to change. This is the commitment that matters. If you do, you will look back on 2014 as being the year of results. You will be much happier. You might be filled with a new sense of pride. Maybe it will be life changing.

4. Measure and Evaluate- How will you know you are making progress? Is what you want measurable? How will you evaluate your progress? Find an easy, simple way to track yourself regularly so that you know when you need to make adjustments. Will you track your progress weekly…monthly? How often? You’ve gotta know how you are doing and be flexible in changing your approach if you really want to get results. We are happiest when we feel we are making progress on the important things in our life. Now track your progress.

5. Reward/Celebrate- Achieving the resolutions is not enough. It’s important that you reward yourself and celebrate your victories both large and small along the way. Treat yourself with some kindness. Reward your efforts. Have some fun! All you can ever do is to give something your best effort. Celebrate in some way when you have found yourself doing just that. You’ll like it because it will inspire you to do more.

Bonus Thought- The language/words that we use with ourselves around goals/resolutions are important. Have you ever heard someone say “I have to go to the gym” or “I can’t eat that” or “I really should get this work done” or “I need to write my resolutions”? No one really wants to do the have to thing or the need to thing. Can’t and should also disempower us. They all create unconscious resistance. Eliminate the have to, should, can’t, need to, etc around your efforts to make things happen.

What happens if you changed those simple statements to the following:

“I am going to the gym.” Or “I am eating this instead” or “I’m getting my work done” or “I’ve decided that this year I’m finally going to make my resolutions happen so I’ writing them down now”.

Notice how you feel when you say these statements vs. the previous ones. Change your words and you will find yourself feeling so much better about what you are doing. Soon you will want to do even more of those things. Your mindset is the thing that sustains you. Your results greatly depend on it. So feed it with something supportive and effective and 2014 will truly be… Your Best Year Ever!

If you want my support or input, I am only an email away. jeff@peakresultscoaching.com