Normally I am all for New Years resolutions but as I get older and hopefully slightly wiser, I can see it is more of an opportunity for short-sighted wishful thinking than an actual commitment to improve ones life. If you are serious about setting goals for 2012, there needs to be logical and imaginative thinking invested into the process. As Napolean Hill said "What the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve." Don't forget the magic ingredient for all successful goals comes down to a good dose of commitment too. Fortunately the process of setting goals can take place at any point in the calendar year, if your life could be better, then what are you waiting for?

To be fair, the 1st of January is a wonderfully significant date to draw a line in the sand and declare a new beginning. But so can be said of any calendar month. It can signify the end of a bad habit, a persistent negative thought or even relationships which no longer serve you. Once you have identified what is it you no longer want, it is important to shift your focus on to its positive opposite. So if you want to give up eating chocolate at night while watching TV, you need to decide what it is you are going to do instead. You can guarantee you will be tested each evening and unless you can respond assertively with a new habit to replace your chocolate craving, you may find yourself falling into the same old habit. For example, if you love watermelon, why not arrange a place of fresh watermelon in an appetising fashion and munch on that instead of chocolate? I once had a client who bleached her teeth every evening for four weeks for 30mins at 9pm, she broke her desire for chocolate by physically being unable to eat it.

Here are 6 questions to ask yourself before embarking on your goals.

1. What do I really want and why? - get really clear on exactly what it will look like when you have achieved your goal. See, hear and feel all aspects of it in your life. Why do you want that?
2. When you see your end goal, does it make you shiver with delight? - if you really want something you should be able to daydream and fantasise about the wonderful dimensions it brings to your life. If you don't feel the tingle of excitement then you haven't hit the nail on the head and that may lead to distractions and failure.
3. Is there anything you need to give up to achieve this goal? - it's important to be very honest with yourself and clarify what exactly will be required of you to achieve this goal. You can't let in the new without clearing out the old.
4. What would be different in your life now if you had of achieved this years ago? - this refers to what you may be missing out on and therefore increase the urgency around it.
5. What does this goal say about you as a person? - what is the best description of the type of person you have become? Do you like it?
6. Do you think yourself worthy of achieving this goal? - you need to feel you deserve to life a great life in order to achieve it.

Claire Hall is a highly respected life coach and founder of Authentic Empowerment. Her practices encompasses coaching for individuals, groups and teams. For more information call +61 2 9953 4036 or visit www.authenticempowerment.com.au