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We’re almost half way through the 1st month of 2012 already! So, how are you doing with those resolutions you made about 2 weeks ago? Personally, I’ve found that resolutions are just too easy to break ~ unless we first set our focus right before we make them. By setting the right focus and sticking to it, we have a much easier time with keeping those resolutions.

But do you find that staying focused is a bit of a challenge? If so, then please let me share with you a few techniques that I have found to be successful.

Choose A Big WHY!

The first thing to know when making a resolution, whether it’s a New Year’s Resolution or a resolve made at some other time, is your reason why you are setting that goal? This is your WHY!

But your WHY needs to be big enough, emotive enough to move you to stay focused on the goal when the going gets tough. An easy measuring line here is, “If your WHY can make you cry,” when you think about it then it’s powerful enough to bolster your resolve during the hard times.

The Key To Staying Focused

Here is a handy little acronymn to help you remember how to stay focused:

F ~ Firmly
O ~ On
C ~ Course
U ~ Until
S ~ Successful!

I quite like that ~ Firmly On Course Until Successful! But to be on course, you must have a destination to start with! And therein lies the key to staying focused ~ To set a destination or target to aim for. This may sound obvious to some, but I’ll state it anyway. It’s a lot easier to succeed when you know where you’re headed; what your destination is, than when you don’t.

Granted, success is not all about the destination, but more the journey. Nevertheless, you still need to know what you’re aiming at if you’re going to hit the target.

If You Fail To Plan, Then Plan To Fail

So, once you know what your destination is, you need to know how you’re going to get there. How long do you want to take? What resources will you need?

To answer these questions, requires a plan. But for a plan to succeed, it needs to be S.M.A.R.T. ~ Specific, Measurable, Achieveable (or Actionable), Realistic and Timed. What does this actually mean?

Specific means deciding more than you want to lose weight, for instance. Decide how much weight you want to lose.

Measurable is about setting up signposts along the way. So, for instance, let’s say you want to lose 6 stones (84 lbs). You might break this up into easier “bite sized” segments.

Achieveable/Actionable ~ To succeed in your goal or plan,  you need to know what actions you need to and can take in order to achieve your goal.

Realistic ~ Basically, there’s no point in setting yourself up to fail, by setting a goal that is way too far out of your reach!  Let’s say, for instance, you want to quit smoking. If you’ve been smoking for several year, then it would be wholly unrealistic to expect to just stop instantly. However, weaning yourself off the cigarettes over a period of time would be much more realistic, and thus acheiveable.

Timed ~ Quite simple, this means to set a date when you want to have successfully completed your goal. So, let’s say you’re New Year’s Resolution is to quit smoking. You might set a date to be completed weaned off the habit by the summer.

Clear Your Mind, Spirit And Body

However, one obstacle that may keep us from making a particular resolution in the first place is self-doubt, coupled with limiting beliefs ~ such as “I can’t…”, “I’m not strong enough to…”, etc.

The simple answer to overcoming such an obstacle is to cleanse your mind, spirit and body of anything that could hold you back or weaken your resolve to aim for that specific goal.

How do you cleanse your mind, spirit and body? Quite simply by detoxing each. This in itself might seem like a challenge. But the results gained from taking up such a challenge will pay off immeasurably!

If you want to find out my recommendations for cleansing your mind, spirit and body and how this can help you gain more focus, then please have a read of my earlier blog article, “Total Mind, Spirit and Body Detox.”

You CAN Stay Focused!

So, we’ve seen that if you have a strong WHY, then you will be able to keep focused on keeping your resolutions when the going gets tough.

We’ve also seen that to succeed in your resolutions requires focus ~ staying Firmly On Course Until Successful! And to stay on course you need to know what your aiming at and to make a S.M.A.R.T. plan that will get you to your destination.

So, know you’ve got those powerful tools for staying focused, you will be empowered to succeed in keeping those resolutions throughout the year ahead.

Getting Support

One final thing you can do to help you to stay focused on achieving your resolutions is to find an “accountablity partner.”

This basically means find someone whom you feel you can trust enough to support and encourage you when you need that little extra support. You would choose and agree to hold yourself accountable to that person, reporting on your progress at agreed intervals, such as once a week or fortnight.

Having an accountability partner is proven to be one of the most powerful tools to help you succeed in achieving your resolutions.

A Professional Personal Coach might be one avenue where you could get an accountability partner. And I can recommend a number of such Personal Coaches, whom I’ve used very successfully in the past.

Additionally, I would be more than happy to assist you in any way I can in attaining your goals in 2012. Just connect with me by clicking here.

Well, I hope you found this article of use. And if you did or if you have any thoughts you’d like to add, then please express your appreciation and/or suggestions in the comments below.

Please also remember to share this article by clicking the relevant social media buttons below.

To Your Massive Success!
Jae Alexander