I am not a fan of New Year’s resolutions because the motivation for making promises is driven not by what you want to achieve or who you want to be but simply a date in the calendar. As the motivator is in essence predominantly external to you as a person, it is no wonder New Years resolutions lapse and fade very quickly with few seldom ever being followed through on. Think about some time in your life when you were really committed and passionate about something. What was creating this passion? Was it someone or something else dictating your actions or was it you following your heart, values and beliefs with a clear knowledge that what you were doing was noble and good?

Ever wonder when YOUR new year is. For me it is August and for many reasons, the main ones being my birthday is in July, the Rowing season with which I was very actively involved for many years finishes in July, in college, the academic year started in the end of August. So when is YOUR new year? By answering this question and planning your future around your year, you start to own your decisions more. You have one less excuse to throw in the towel when the going gets rough because you based your goals initially on an external motivator – the calendar year. You now have an internal motivator that you can own and embrace. Why not give it a go and see if your results are any different to what you normally have with the traditional January New Year’s resolutions.

Here are a few pointers that I have applied to my business and personal lives through the years to help me follow through on commitments I make to myself and to goals I set for myself.

1. Find out what will inspire and excite you about each goal you set for yourself. If you can’t find anything, change your goal(s). Once the initial enthusiasm fades, you will need to get inspired if you are to have any chance of lasting the pace, staying focused and committed and making your goals a reality.
2. Reflect on the year gone by recording both your success and disappointments. When I did this exercise recently I discovered so many successes that I had completely forgotten about. This was a great feeling and very uplifting and motivating. Spend a little time identifying the reasons these successes were so important. When you have listed your disappointments, identify what specific learning you got from each and record these.
3. Evaluate the lists in (2) above and ask yourself how you want these lists to be different one year from now. What can you do to develop, add to and consolidate your successes and avoid many of the disappointments previously experienced? Get specific and be honest.
4. Share your goal with someone you can trust, someone who will support and encourage you. Remember you are 7 times more likely to follow through on something you commit to someone else than you are to something you commit to yourself. If you can’t find a friend or close family member that fits the bill you might want to consider recruiting the services of a qualified life coach.
5. Come up with a slogan that summarised the most important learning that you had in the past 12 months. Every year I come up with a slogan that resonates well with me and reflects where I am at this stage of my life. Some of the slogans I have come up with in the past include “Every relationship I have should be synergistic” or “There is little point in cumulating financial wealth if I don’t have anyone to share it with”. These are very inspiring and keep me on track on creating the future I want for myself. They also demonstrate how I learned and evolved over time, something that is very important to me.

If you try out some of these ideas, I would love to know how you get on. Please feel free to email me with your comments on this or any other article that has appeared in this column.

GOOD LUCK!

Fergal O’Connor is a Business and Personal Life Coach working in partnership with his Business and Private clients providing a supportive, confidential, challenging and non-judgemental environment to make their ambitions and dreams a reality. Fergal can be contacted at Synergy Coaching Services, Tel: (061) 467287, email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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