It’s holiday time which is a time to party, to connect with family and friends… and in general have a great time.

And I really hope you get to do a lot of that… I’m heading off to Malaysia with my girl for two weeks of shopping (guess who’s priority that is? ), seeing family, partying, rest, recuperation… and hopefully a whole lot of doing nothing!

However, I’ll also be doing something that I encourage you to do as well.

Spend some time reflecting over 2010 – how was the year for you?

For me… 2010 was the year I got married… the year I helped take a business that was about a month from closing it’s doors to the strongest position it’s been in 5 years (and within 6 months too!)… the year I put on 5 kg and became the most unfit I’ve been in years (no I didn’t achieve all the goals I wanted to either), the year I bought another investment property and the year I was able to take two amazing overseas holidays… plus a whole lot more.

When I say reflect on your year, I don’t mean to start whinging about all the things you did not achieve… but rather, be honest with yourself. Like me you probably achieved somethings and failed to achieve others.

Once you have reflected on your year, start planting seeds for your new year. Most people set these big damn resolutions for the new year… I’m gonna lose weight, give up smoking, spend more time with my kids, earn more money or whatever. Yet you already that it’s a tiny percentage of people that actually do anything and follow through on their resolutions.

Why?

One of the main reasons is that life gets in the way. It’s easy to say you’re going to achieve something when you are relaxed or on holidays… or just a little drunk But when you get back into the swing of things, you now need to start doing something new so you can get that new goal.

And as you already know, doing something new, adding something to your already busy schedule is bloody hard. I’ve made this mistake many times – saying I’d do something and then never actually following through.

So what I suggest is that you start planting seeds now for your new year. If your goal is to lose weight (like mine is), don’t wait until the new year to start… why not start now? Yes, I know it’s silly season and there is more bad (but tasty) food around than you poke a stick at.

Heck for me it’s even worse because yesterday was my birthday.. so it was chocolate cake for breakfast (thanks wife!), tiramusu for morning tea (thanks team!), chocolate brownies for afternoon tea (can’t remember who gave me those) and then cocktails for dinner… I think I just got fatter in 24 hours.

But I knew this would happen and I don’t feel guilty about it because I’ve started planting my seeds for next year. I’ve got hold of a personal trainer and we’re going to begin training from January. I’ve committed to seeing a dietician the moment I get back from my holidays and my gorgeous wife has arranged a great reward for me if I hit my weight goal by my first year anniversary… so I’ve got plenty of seeds planted. (Plus I’ve just told you and everyone else who reads this… so I better damn well follow through)

What this means is that when I come back from holidays, I’m going to start the new year running… and that’s what I want you to do.

Plant some seeds now so you don’t stall when the new year comes. Don’t let 2011 be another year where you wished you made a change… instead start now (just small steps) and let momentum build for 2011… and together let’s make next year the greatest yet.

Happy holidays

Cheers,

Niro

PS: What do you think about planting seeds? Do you have another strategy that helps you stick to your new year’s goals? Share them by leaving me a comment below.

0 people like this post.

Like 

Related Posts:

• Wisdom from Salma Hayek
• Inspiration from Rocky – 3 Strategies to Bounce Back
• What Brittany Murphy’s & Casey Johnson’s Deaths Should Remind Us Of
• Happy New Year from Sydney’s 2010 New Year’s Eve Fireworks