New Year, New Resolution

The year 2010 has come and gone but its memories will linger in our minds for some time to come.
Yes, the momories of successes we achieved and the failures we recorded.
Obviously, there were certain things we intended to achieve last year, 2010 but which we could not achieve. There may be certain habits you intended to break which you could not break over the years.
Well, those years have gone by and it is of no use crying over spilt milk. Thank God you are alive to witness another new year. That you are alive to see this New Year 2011is an indication that you still have another opportunity to achieve your desired goal or break that habit you always wanted to break.
You see, life is a product of the choice you make. There is a saying that life is what you make of it. as you make your bed, so you lie on it.
What is it you want to achieve in life? What changes do you want to make in your life? What are the resolutions you want to make this year 2011? Or you have not given thought to any of these?
Well, the year 2011 has come and it is high time you examined yourself. The great Philosopher, Socrates said: “an unexamined life is not worth living.”
Making Resolutions and getting the Results You Desire
This year 2011 must not go by without you making plans to turn around your life for the better.
Below are six steps you must take to make concrete resolutions and achieving the results you desire.
1. Take Stock of Your Life
Taking stock of your life involves you sitting down and calmly analysing every aspect of your life and taking concrete decisions that will lead to the actualisation of your yearning.
There are many issues to take stock of – unemployment, financial problem, university admission, alcoholism, smoking, laziness and what have you.
2. Write Down Your Goals
Having taken stock of your life, the next step to take is to reduce into writing what you intend to achieve. You are not yet set to achieving any great accomplishment in life until you are ready to put into writing what you wish to achieve. By writing down your goal, you are making a commitment gingers you to do all that is necessary to reach your goal.
Writing down your goals helps you achieve them faster than you ever imagine. A research was conducted in a US university some time ago. This research was carried out among groups of students. One group consisted of those who did not set goal for themselves; another group is made up of those who had a handful of goals; while the third group consisted of those who reduced all their goals into writing. After 20 years, the researchers confirmed that the group that wrote down their goals, accomplished over 90% of their goals; the group that set goals but did not put them into writing achieved about 50% of their goals; the third group that did not set goals, did not measure up to the other two groups.
What does these go to show?
There is power in goal-setting and there is greater power in writing down goals you wish to accomplish. There is determination, there is persistence, and there is in writing down goals.
3. Write Down the Steps You Will Take to Achieve Your Goal
Success is a function of calculated plan and strategy. Just as the architect cannot build a mansion without a master plan, success cannot be achieved without a concrete plan of how to go about achieving it.
It is not enough to write down your goals. Writing down your goals alone will not avail you much. You must also sit down and think of the things you need to put in place and the steps you need to take to get to your desired goal. As you brainstorm on these, endeavour to write them down.
4. Constantly Review Your Goals and the Plans for Achieving them
It is necessary to constantly review your goals and plan for achieving them to remind you of the commitment you have made. Those constant reminders are meant to ginger you to action. Reviewing your goals also affords you the opportunity of amending your strategy or adding more strategies for achieving your goals.
5. Take Action Immediately
The major problem of prospective entrepreneurs and success seekers is not really lack of knowledge of what to do. They might have acquired the necessary skills, knowledge and technical know-how. Many have attended seminars, workshops, and practical training while others have read books and manuals written by experts in the field they want to venture into, but putting into practice what they have learnt becomes difficult.
Knowledge acquired cannot put food on your table. It is what you do with the knowledge or skill you acquired that matters. Of course, there is nothing wrong in seeking knowledge. There is nothing wrong in acquiring skills in various fields. But if you want to profit from the knowledge and skill you acquired, you must be ready to put them into practice. It is possible to have an idea that can fetch you hundreds of millions of naira and still be starving, but you can never starve when you put the idea to work.
If you have written down your goals and the strategies for achieving them, I say, well done. You are very much on the right track. You are not far from achieving your goals. But you need do one thing - just one thing. And that thing is action. Take action. Do what is required to accomplish your goal. Be a man of action.
6. Never Give Up Until You Get What You Desire
That you have tried previous times without success does not mean you are a failure. God does not create a failure. A failure is a successful person who has gone off the right track. If you have failed before, you can still bounce back to the right track.
All you need do is change your orientation. As a man thinks, so is he. Begin to think of yourself as a successful person. Many are defeated most times not because they don’t have what it takes to conquer, but because of the negative opinion they have about themselves. Henry Ford, the great inventor, said: “if you think you can, you are right; if you can’t, you are right.”
All depends on you. The choice is yours. You can begin this year 2011 by making up your mind that you will never give up until you accomplish your goal. When you do this, I assure you, this year 2011 will become a memorable year. Remember: nothing can defeat a person who has made up his mind that he will never give up until he succeeds in achieving his heart’s desire.
Once again, I wish you a happy, glorious, fruitful and memorable year.