The beginning of the year is a time of dreaming about the future, setting new goals and striving towards making this year more of a success than the previous one. Most people have realised that New Year’s resolutions don’t work. You need solid goals to pursue. However, most of these goals usually focus on working harder, doing more and becoming better. So much focus is placed on striving forward that we forget an age-old wisdom caught beautifully in the old English proverb: “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.”

Many of us grew up with a very strong work ethic and the high pressure circumstances we live in presently, contribute to this idea of always going at full pace, as if work is all there is to life. Although this driven attitude is admirable, and is commended, an exclusive focus on only work, may leave you as a dull or rather burnt-out person.

Just as important as it is to set goals and work hard, it is also crucial that we laugh and experience activities that provide us with enjoyment and energy. You have probably experienced going home after a long day at work, feeling tired and drained. And how a change of activity can fill up your energy reserves again, like when you play with your children, go for a game of squash, or read an intriguing novel. These activities bring balance into our lives. Unfortunately, most people are not so serious about making these activities a priority in their lives.

As with goals for success we need to set some goals for playing and having fun too. Therefore, as you pull out your calendar to set goals for your work also put some of the following events in your diary. Decide what you will do in each category to increase your level of fun and enjoyment.

1. Sport

Some people really enjoy their sport, whether they are taking part in formal competitions, participating informally in the park or just watching their favourite team play. For them sport can instantly lift their mood and change their state of mind. If you are one of them, what are you going to this year to make your particular sport a greater priority in your life?

2. Culture

Cultural activities also have the ability to lift your mood and change your emotional state. Some people will feel uplifted by going to a gig of their favourite Rock band, while others enjoy listening to a symphony orchestra or watching ballet. Others may prefer a poetry reading in front of a log fire or attending a stand-up comedy evening. Whatever your choice of cultural activity may be, they all have one thing in common, whether you are on stage or one of the audience, they can energise and uplift you.

They have a strong influence on our emotions and can provide us with a lot of enjoyment. Which cultural activities have this effect on you and when was the last time you’ve participated in any of these activities?

3. Hobbies

Other activities that have the power to re-energise you, is participating in hobbies. Something that you can immerse yourself in like an excellent novel. You may have experienced being very irritated about something, but the moment you pick that book up, you step into another world and when you step back to the real world again, the irritation has gone. Maybe that happens to you when you watch a good movie or cook a great meal or maybe you find enormous pleasure in being with animals or having a pet. What hobbies or activities give you pleasure and how are you going to make these a bigger part of your life this year?

4. Travel

Is life still an adventure to you? Did you dream about the places you would visit when you were young? Maybe these mystical places were just your grandmother’s back garden or maybe you dreamt of going to the Taj Mahal or Angkor Wat. Some people love to travel and explore different countries and cultures, while others prefer to stay in their hometown or their own country. Whatever your preference may be, do you still get excited by thinking or dreaming about these places? Are there still places you would love to visit or would love to return to? Where will you be going this year?

Focussing on these four areas of your life and setting goals for each one of them, not just for your work life, will increase the positive experience you get out of this year immensely. Do this and you will have an unforgettable year!

According to research performed by the Opinion Corporation and 24/7 Innovation in Dec 2008:

• 45% of people usually set New Year’s resolutions
• 17% set resolutions infrequently, and
• 38% absolutely never set resolutions.

Of those that do set resolutions (these add to more than 100% as some people set multiple resolutions):

• 35% want to improve their finances
• 38% want to loose weight or exercise more
• 47% want to work on their personal development or education, and
• 31% want to improve their relationships.

The problem with all of this is the fact that unless you are a businessman or a really ambitious person, you don’t measure and or track your resolutions or goals.

Jaco Beukes of LEAP IN LIFE Coaching, a certified NLP practitioner and qualified Life Coach, says that “Resolutions are easily conjured in the mind, but unless you write it down and revisit it frequently, you won’t actually know if you are successful or not. You are simply day dreaming, speculating or engaging in a bit of wishful thinking.”

The turn of each year allows you the opportunity to reinvent yourself for the next year, if you would choose to do so. But by the end of January, 90% of people would be back in “default” mode again, reverting to their old habits and ways.

This happens for various reasons: laziness, fear of change, greed, effort required, ignorance, or disbelief that the change will really make a difference.

On this point, it is important to distinguish between goals and resolutions. Goals are specific, to the point, and with a fixed deadline and outcome. Resolutions tend to be more about intentions, nice-to-haves, and dreams.

To be successful, the outcome has to be measurable, specific and time-bound. This means that you really have to make changes. And most important, you have to be held accountable by someone.

In almost all businesses, organisations or professional teams, goals are set, tracked and reported on daily; the reason for this is that businesses recognise that you can only change what you can measure and review.

Jaco states that “This power to effectively change habits and behaviours, are accessible to individuals too. You simply need to:

• Set “S-M-A-R-T” (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound) goals,
• Track it properly (It has to be written down)
• Frequently review your progress and performance, and
• Get someone to hold you accountable to your commitments!”

Jaco identified this need to give individuals a structured approach to set and track their goals, through his years of experience and working with and coaching individuals from a wide variety of backgrounds.

He therefore developed the “Gears of Life™” self-coaching system and teamed up with online education and personal development company, Life School trading as HABIT TOOL, to provide people with a free online version of the model.

The tool works in four easy steps:

1. Help the individual to become aware of his / her current situation
2. Assess the impact of their current direction in life
3. Set goals, and take effective action steps to achieve  them, and
4. Record, track and review your progress on a regular basis.

The platform on which the Gears of Life ™ is hosted, habittool.com, also contains other features such as online learning, a community forum and affiliate coaches to provide the necessary help, support and sense of accountability that the individual might require on his/her journey to achieve his/her goals.

New Year’s resolutions DO NOT work, unless you have a structured approach, the correct tools and support required. Fortunately, this is now available to everyone.

We all want to grow in life. We want to develop our potential and become the best that we can be. Sport stars all have personal coaches and trainers to help them with this. Over the last 5 years people realised that we need the same for our personal-, career- and business development. In this article we’ll focus on a model to help you:

• Assess your current situation
• Set goals, and
• Draft an action plan to achieve those goals.

Graham Alexander developed a coaching model that not only reminds us of our overall goal, but also give us four practical steps toward tackling any immediate stumbling blocks that may be blocking our growth. To help with this he created the GROW model.

It is used by coaches all over the world to help people take control of their personal development and goals. Obviously this model, like other coaching models was specifically designed to be used within a coaching relationship.

However, after you’ve read this article, you can use and apply the GROW model. You can also use online tools such as Habit Tool.com to easily record and track your goals and progress.

The G-R-O-W model explained:

G – Goal: What do you really want? If you are not 100% sure, begin by writing down everything that is bothering you at the moment or use the “Gears of Life” self assessment. Then decide on one goal to work with first. The clearer you are about what your specific goal is the bigger the chances that you will achieve it. A coach is invaluable in this first step. He / she will guide you by asking questions that will help you to become really clear about what you truly want.

R – Reality: What is happening in your life right now? It is really important to establish exactly what is going on – on the surface as well as deep down. Ask yourself what your reality is and what makes you think about it in that way. Do you make assumptions or quick judgements in situations? Is it really the reality or just your perception of it? Keep on asking yourself these questions until you are very clear about what the specific stumbling block is that is preventing you from having what you really want.

O – Options: What options do you have available that will help you reach your goal? List as many options as you can think of, in and outside of the box. Don’t judge your options, yet! At this stage you don’t have to decide what to do, you just need to generate many possibilities on how to overcome the obstacles that are standing in the way of your goal.

W – Wrap-up: This is the ACTION phase. It is now time to look at all your options and ask yourself what the implications of each action step would be. Would it create any other possible barriers? What could you do to overcome these? Which option do you consider the best? Once you’ve decided on this, you need to decide on your action plan. What are the specific actions that you will take? When will you take them? How will you take them? Who will support you in this? When will you review what happened? And how will you measure if you’ve achieved your goal?

As you can see, the GROW model assists you in setting goals, thinking through your current situation and coming up with an action plan.

In turn, this will help you move forward towards fulfilling your potential. Although you can use this model on yourself or even with friends, you will receive the most benefit from it if you have a personal coach to guide you through it.

Which ever way you decide to use this method, may it help you to continually grow and fulfil your amazing potential!