Well another year has passed and it’s time for a new set of New Year resolutions that you won’t stick to past the end of the first week.

I’ve heard this comment many times over the last couple of days and have been guilty of saying it to others as well.

Statements like that seem a bit negative really, why won’t your friend be able to abstain from drinking, why won’t you be able to lose that couple (in your dreams, more like a stone) of pounds that you have gained over the last six months and why won’t you be able to look after yourself more and get fitter? The answer to all of these questions is, of course, you can if you really want it enough.

There a couple of things that I really want to achieve over the next six months or so, I know I can do it but I don’t want to tempt fate by telling everyone what they are just yet… I have decided to be one of the people who actually wants to achieve something first before I tell everyone what it is I am trying to achieve. I have made the mistake too many times before of telling people what I am going to do only to end up with egg on my face.   Having said that I don’t have the best track record with resolutions, maybe that is because I kept telling everybody what my resolutions were and they kept telling me that I wouldn’t stick at it past the first week. Isn’t it funny how if you keep telling someone something, eventually they will believe it!

I suppose what I’m really talking about here is setting myself a couple of Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time bound (SMART) goals.

Someone once told me that ‘the difference between lots of activity and lots of productivity is a good process’.

SMART is a good process and like many of the leadership and management tools and processes, the most work comes up front. I find that coming up with a really Specific goal is actually pretty hard.

In order to make SMART work there are some things that need to be considered:

Specific – “What is happening or where are you currently?” “What exactly do you want or need to achieve and why is it important to you?” and “What difference will achieving it make?”

Once you have identified the goal you want to work on, using the remainder of the SMART model will really help to support you in making it happen and keep the negativity at bay. There are a couple of quick and simple ideas for each of these:

Measurable - Make sure that your goal is tangible; can you see, feel and quantify the difference?

Achievable - Do you have the resources that you need to make this happen? E.g. learning to drive, do you have access to a car to practise in?

Realistic – In the ‘real’ world opposed to  the ‘happy clappy’ training world is this a practical goal?  My advice would be to have lots of small check points along the way as opposed to one massive goal. Taking this approach has a dual purpose. 1. It is easier to measure small steps and every time you reach one of the milestones you have achieved something. 2. You will keep both the internal and the external negativity at bay.

Time Bound – So when are you going to start and when will you need to achieve your goal by?

Ok, got all of that?  Now, all we need to do is start doing it rather than just talking about it.  One of the things that I really want to achieve this year is….

See, already I nearly gave the game away and told you about my resolutions before I had even started.

I’m off now to rewrite some of my resolutions.

Good luck to you all, I promise to tell you later about mine if you tell me about yours.