What has been on your mind lately? If you are like many of us, you are working on those New Year’s resolutions and business plans right?! You know, like the ones you made last year at this time. But somehow, our day-to-day established habits and beliefs in ourselves creep into our resolutions and before too long we realize nothing has changed.

From all that I’ve read and seen through others, I believe the keys to being resolute in our goals are as follows:

• Have a positive attitude. Success is rooted in positive thoughts.
• Keep it simple, our lives are already complex. Change occurs in small ways first. If you plan to change too much at once, it will be too difficult and you will give up out of frustration.
• Be crystal clear with your intentions. They should be written down in full description and with completion dates.
• Sing it from the mountain tops. By making your intentions public, you are more apt to fulfill them. Go one step further to success by measuring your progress daily and show it to someone else.
• Keep it top of mind by reading and reflecting each morning.
• And finally, and this is critical, show gratitude daily. It is powerful positive energy that will keep you on track. Let your handwritten notes be gifts all year long in the mailboxes of those in your personal and professional life.

To illustrate just how powerful these steps are here is my personal story.  I attended the Commitment seminar in 2000. At the completion of the seminar, I stood up in front of my group of 150 and proclaimed that I would run the next Chicago Marathon in October of 2001. Up to that time, I had not been the best at completing goals. I looked up the Hal Higdon training schedule for novices and found myself a running mate. I trained all spring and summer and two weeks before the 2001 Chicago Marathon, I developed hamstring tendonitis. It left me unable to run for 3 months. Still, with the commitment made, I again trained and in October of 2002 I ran the Chicago Marathon in 4.5 hours. My goal or intention had been declared, written down, was accountable, and measureable, I had a date certain for completion and with my running mate, I had a daily affirmation and gratitude. This stuff works; it is simple, but not always easy.

I’m sure you are familiar with the famous quote by Mahatma Ghandi…

“Watch your thoughts, for they become words; watch your words, for they become actions; watch your actions, for they become habits; watch your habits, for they become character; watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”