Top 7 Tips on How You Can Make It Happen!

Now is a good time to make a new start, not just because it is a new year but because you want to, you have the desire to and because you will be all the better for trying. It does not have to be January 1st to make a new start you can do it on January 9th or the 31st or August 8th or whenever you feel you need to make a change. However, there seems to be something about the holidays and the New Year that causes us to take pause, reflect back, and attempt to think or even plan forward. Originally, I was going to put this out on the first of the year but I held off. Because time and time and millions, even billions, of people make New Year’s resolutions – ranging from losing weight, starting a new business, to quitting smoking or saving a marriage. In every case, the basic motivation for these changes is the same. They want to do things differently, better, improving themselves, their circumstances or both. Unfortunately, for many, or more likely most, these decrees of self-improvement rarely last any longer than the holidays they follow. For some, they struggle with finding the inspiration or faith to believe that the change is even possible. Others struggle to unearth the energy necessary to take action. For those that are lucky enough to have both the energy and the faith in the beginning, it is quickly put to the test the moment the first real obstacle presents itself. Here is where the excuses and procrastination begins. Their motivation fades and soon they fall back into the ‘grooves’ that their past habits and decisions have worn into their lives.

That is why I held off publishing this article for a little while. I am hoping that I can grab the attention of those whom are now facing some of those motivation-robbing obstacles. That some of the tools included in this article will help them over the top of the hill before them.

First, let me start of by assuring you that YOU CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN! Problems small and large, heartaches deep and painful may be looming on your horizon or right in your face this very moment. However, no matter how helpless or hopeless you feel in the face of these circumstances YOU CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN! Trust me on this one. Why? Because I know how you feel. I have traveled (and at times still travel) that rough and rocky road of adversity.

I have survives the level of stress that turns coal to diamonds, standing back up after personal and professional disasters. The worst of which was the loss of a child less than two years old, a fate I would wish upon no one – not even my worst enemy.

So, I can say with heartfelt honesty that I know what it feels like to be long on trouble and short on resources. Through these times I learned many gems, but, the one thing I learned that stands out is - YOU CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN, you can even make an entirely new start. Problems, failures, and disappointments have battered and bruised your pride and personality but no matter how messed up, looked over or knocked down you feel – take heart YOU CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN – you can start anew.

Below are tips for your new start. Ways you can become your own personal phoenix, creating a new life out of the ashes of your old. Ways to transform your attitudes, which in turn affects your thoughts and actions. By transforming your attitudes, thoughts and actions, you will in turn, transform your career, character and your relationships both personal and professional. These tips will aid you in your trip to success. Starting these steps now will not only create this new beginning but also can create a set of destiny changing habits that can form the life you dream, desire and deserve.

Set a destination - Decide what you want to change. I am not talking about having a vague desire either, I talking about knowing exactly what you want. The only way to make a significant and lasting change in your life, be it personal or professional is first know what it is that you want or need to change. You need a clear vision of your goal and you need to make a conscious decision to pursue that goal. John Wooden stated “The most important key to achieving great success is to decide upon your goal and launch, get started, take action, move.” Truer words have never been spoken. To get inspired to start anew you must know exactly what you want to change – decide upon your goal. Like a finished painting on the wall, you need to be able to see your goal attained in its entirety. By the way, do not settle for modest change, dream the big dream I say. Envision your dream in fine detail build your hopes high then take action from that hope and inspiration.
Know you are a worthy traveler - Realize your ability to change. The principal way to get and stay inspired at any time is to realize you have an amazing ability to change your life immediately and completely. William James stated “The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering the attitudes of his mind.” Knowing that you have all the abilities you need to change your life should be not only a source of inspiration but a bountiful source of motivation as well. This knowledge should invigorate your determination to sustain your life changing efforts, as well simply give you the desire to make improvements and changes in your life. On the other side of the coin is the belief, or even the fear, that any attempt to make a change or improvement will fail. Do not let the forces of habit, routine or tradition allow you to doubt your ability to make a new start. For some, these fears become a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you have fallen prey to this prophet of doom – remember this the next time he comes a calling. You have the power to change your habits, your direction and your life. The question is not whether you can, but whether you will.
Map out your route. Your dreams, goals and aspirations will seem far more real, exciting and attainable, as you get more detailed in envisioning them. However, any good traveler knows that to get to your destination or goal you need to have a detailed map and action plan. Making a new start will be fruitless if you wander off in the wrong direction – having a map and an action plan will keep you on the road to your success and help you avoid becoming lost. Realize now that the map you have today will change as you travel down your road to success. You can only see as far as the current horizon. Between you and the current horizon are some obstacles that you can foresee and plan to overcome. However, beyond the horizon, or even before that, there are some that you cannot see or plan for. Having your map and action plan will keep you on track and enable you to quickly reroute yourself when these obstacles sideline you. As you sit down to map out your route to success, be realistic. Do not ask yourself to cover impossible terrain, or rough terrain without the proper preparation. If you do you will probably give up and turn back. Set yourself up for success not for failure by breaking larger goals down in to manageable steps so you can see and measure your progress to you final destination. I find that as I plot out my success path on any goal, I become even more inspired to start my journey immediately – I believe you too will find this to be true as you map out your own destination. For more information get my article “GOALSETTING 101 mailto:successarticle_9@sendfree.com”
Rev your engines and start anew each day. An essential step to staying motivated and starting anew is to consider each day a new start, a new opportunity with new possibilities. Carpe Diem – seize the day and make it yours. Review your map and take action every day. If you’re only able to take one action today, take the action that will move you towards your goal. Learning to take these daily actions and doing what lies clearly at hand is essential to solidifying your new start and clearing a direct path to your success. Give each and everyday your full attention, the time you have the most control over is now. So, do not dwell on the past – but instead learn from it. Avoid being bogged down in your regrets and missed opportunities. Yesterday ended last night and today is a brand new day full of promise and possibility. Looking for more way to keep your engines rev and your RPMS high by staying motivated? My articles, “4 WAYS TO STAYING HIGHLY MOTIVATED” mailto:successarticle_7@sendfree.com and “STAYING POSITIVE IN A NEGATIVE WORLD” mailto:successarticle_4@sendfree.com can give you some tips.
Keep your batteries fully charged. Rest is key here! Do not over task yourself. You will do more damage than good in the end. Decisions, discussions and tasks undertaken when you are fatigued do not get the proper care and attention they need. This results in your having to expend more energy on them later. Exhaustion hampers inspiration and motivation more then you may believe. When you are tired out, worn down and done in your mental and emotional resources are severely depleted. Without these resources, you are not able to muster the inspiration or motivation to reflect and act on your plan. When you are tired you are spending your time just trying to survive, not spending it trying to thrive. Any period of the year has its activities but the holidays seem to have so many more. Buying just the right gifts, wrapping them, putting up and trimming the tree, decorating the house, hosting parties, attending still more parties, sending cards, etc. Then there are the activities in our businesses; doing year-end, closing the accounting books, reviewing the years performance, planning and prepping for the new year, preparing for all the changes our business will see and business goals we want to attain in the new year. With all this going on it is important for us to get adequate rest so we can complete all these activities and still take the daily steps necessary to reach the destination we have mapped out. Take a little extra time each day to sit quietly, dream ambitiously and plan strategically. This will do much to fire up your enthusiasm, ignite your inspiration and renew your perspective.
Carry extra fuel for your trip by expanding your optimism capacity. Inspiration and optimism go hand in hand, but remember true optimism is not just the belief that all will be well. It is very different indeed. Optimism is the belief and confidence that taking the right actions will result in the attainment of ones goals and desires. This belief fuels a passionate persistence to take those actions consistently, even faithfully. Optimism allows you to take confident initiative and proactively approach your goals. Thus, the odds are better that you will be willing to make a new start or take on a new challenge. Here are a few quick ways to bolster your fuel for your trip to success.

To increase your optimism capacity you need to:

a) practice positive thinking. Your thoughts are the driver of your outlook, attitude and thus your actions. Your body is affected by your thoughts – negative thinking will have a negative impact on your physical well being, so optimistic, enthusiastic thinking will have a positive effect on your mind body, & spirit.

b) Feed your mind with healthy input. Inspirational books and tapes are a great source of healthy input for you mind. The reason that so many professionals in world listen to motivational tapes and read inspirational books is that they work. Plain and simple. Your mental diet is as important to your success as your physical diet is to your health. Immersing yourself in information that is motivational and inspirational in content you helps regulate your thoughts. This ties back to practicing positive thinking

c) Ration your television time. This one was the acid that ate away at my own path to success in the past. Many a night I sat in front of the boob tube and wasted hours of precious time that I could have dedicated to the actions that would have brought me to my goals. This was not only a squandering of my time but it also ate away at my positive attitude. The programs I found myself frequenting were affecting the way I viewed the world around me. So take control of your television time and be cautious of what you watch so that it does not trickle into your behavior, sidelining your trip to success.
Fire up your engine and start your trip to success now! If you want to start anew then start now. Do not wait! For nothing dissipates inspiration like inaction. However, nothing stokes those motivational fires like action. Taking action, exerting effort and gaining ground on your goals will inspire you to take more action, exert more effort thus gain more ground. Can you see the pattern here? You cannot stand in front of the fireplace of life and say “Give me heat and I’ll put some wood in you.” You must first exert the effort to get the wood, put the wood in, light it and stoke the flame. Then and only then will you get the heat you desire. What ever you want to do, or dream you can do, just begin. Begin now! Do not let your past missteps deter you from attaining your goal. Learn from them! Many of the most successful people in our history overcame obstacles to become the figures we all know. For example, Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team. Albert Einstein could not read until the age of seven, did not speak until age four and was fired from his first three teaching jobs. Both went on to become famous in their respective fields despite these set backs. Remember the past does not equal the future. Take the learnings from your past and choose wiser actions in your future. Look past your worries. Heck, even forget about most of them. The bulk of these worries are things that have not even happened or most likely with some good planning will be avoided. Remember your map I talked about in step three? A good map will route you around those worries. Therefore, if it has not happened and it can be avoided then why worry about it.

http://www.SuccessAtlas.com
Tracy Brinkmann is an goal setting and success counselor. Through his company Success Atlas, he provides goal-setting, motivational & educational material, & training via live presentations as well as digital/audio products.
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