11 days left of this year and 11 days left of this decade!!!!!! I am not sure what I am more shocked about, the fact that I remember the millennium celebrations and spending the night on call because as soon as the clocks on the computers hit 00:00:00 the world was going to end OR the fact that it was 20 years ago!!!! 20 years! Its actually quite frightening at how quickly time passes, and more so as you get older, I have no idea why this is but it just seems to go quicker.

So lets get honest, and I am not going make you go back 20 years. Lets just look back to 1st January 2019. Did you set any New Years resolutions? perhaps you wanted to stop smoking, join a gym (and actually go this time), be healthier, get a new job, move house, be happier………..the list can be quite long. Did you do it? if you did huge congratulations, you are in the 8% of people that actually accomplished them. 25% of people stay committed for 30 days then just..give up. Its the same any time of the year, commitment isn’t something that just flows to us on the 1st day of each year. The same process applies for weight loss, learning a new skill, reading a book etc. It all comes down to how much you want it, what does it mean to you, what are the consequences of not doing it and how will you do it. Resolutions are too vague, you need to set goals instead. Goals are specific, they are actionable which makes them more effective.Get clear on what you want to accomplish, why is it important and how will you make it happen. Take being healthier as an example and break it down. How are you going to become healthier? Will that mean changing eating habits, and/or join a gym or fitness class? Do you need to hire a personal trainer or a health coach to help you with these goals? what else will you have to do? Be as specific as possible and break it down into all of the smaller steps you will need to reach your full goal.

The biggest challenge is to be honest with yourself. Most people have the same resolutions year on year as they simply just carry it over (guilty as charged over here). Take a good look in the mirror and actually ask yourself questions out loud. What got in the way last time? Why do you want to do it? How will it make you feel? 

Know you can do it, because you can. Believe in yourself, but know……if you change nothing, nothing changes.