What would you like to achieve in the next year? Knowing what you want is very important. Spend some time thinking about how you would truly like your life to be and then crystallise your thoughts into a wish list or a set of goals. Alternatively, write a paragraph about your ideal life.

If you really have no idea or direction for the future then try this exercise. Imagine yourself sitting with a friend twelve months from now and telling them one piece of fabulous news. What would that piece of news be? Now you have something to aim for.

Once you have established what you want, the next step is to figure out how to get it. I suspect that the reason many New Year’s resolutions go by the wayside is that the person making them has not figured out how they are going to stop smoking, lose weight, exercise more etc. Changes in life require a game plan and also a support mechanism.

In my Start The Future Now workshops, I ask the participants to consider what they need to gain or lose in order to achieve their ideal life. Examples of what you need to gain might be a qualification, a fitness training buddy, a sum of money or three hours a week of extra childcare. Examples are what you need to lose might be less debt, a reduction in working hours or ten hours a week less of watching TV!

Once you know specifically what you need to gain and lose from your life, then you can start to figure out how. In my work as a coach my clients tell me about their ideas, their options and what option they would prefer to take. Then I ask them the killer question: “When are you going to do that?”

Action is extremely important. Nothing will happen without it. From your gains and losses you can build an action plan. Then you will know exactly what needs to be done over the coming days, weeks and months. Break each item down into small, achievable tasks. It doesn’t matter how long it takes to achieve your goals, but it is important that you take manageable regular action towards them. As long as you are moving along one step after another then you will eventually fulfil your desires.

Don’t panic if you don’t know how to go about achieving one of your gains or losses. Just figure out what the very first step would be. It might be something as simple as an internet search. When you’ve done that then the next step will quite naturally present itself to you.

Also figure out what support you might need. For example, if you want to lose some weight then you might need to have a chat with other people in your household about meals, shopping and whether to have unhealthy snacks in the kitchen cupboard. Or, if you want to set up a business, then maybe you need to find a mentor or get some advice from someone else who has done something similar.

You can make whatever changes you wish to your life. The results might not happen overnight but as long as you work out a way to do it with small, attainable steps then there is no reason why you can’t succeed.