Getting in shape, finding a new job, sorting out your life: for millions of us the start of a new year is a time to make resolutions for the year ahead. The start of a new decade can seem an even more auspicious time to set some goals for how we want our future to be.

The ever-popular themes each year include a more active approach to health and wellbeing, improved finances, and learning new things. How many of the top 10 most common resolutions look familiar to you?

1. Exercise more

2. Lose weight

3. Get organized

4. Learn a new skill or hobby 

5. Live life to the fullest

6. Save more money / spend less money

7. Quit smoking / drinking / eating meat

8. Spend more time with family and friends

9. Travel more

10. Read more

Unfortunately, far too many of of us reach the end of the year without achieving our goals. According to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology, only 46% of people who made New Year’s resolutions were successful. That means more than half of those who set a goal for the new year, will fail!

Nevertheless, it also means that you still have an almost 50% chance of turning those resolutions into reality. So, how can we increase our chances of staying committed and really breathing life into our intentions?

Here’s some wonderful advice from my fellow Heal Your Life® teacher, Jane Matthews:

Rewrite your goals

The first thing to be aware of is how often we come at goals from a negative mindset rather than a positive one. Take dieting and consider for a moment the internal messages we send ourselves when we talk about fighting the flab, battling with our weight, resisting temptation.

We are telling ourselves how hard it is going to be before we even start.

The alternative is to re-frame our intention in a way that is loving and supportive. Sticking with the diet example, we could choose to affirm that it is easy to make healthy food choices and nourish our bodies with fuel that will energise and heal us. It feels much better than 'fighting' doesn’t it? And you can apply the same technique of turning negative to positive for any goal you set.

Whose goal is it anyway?

Which brings us onto ‘shoulds’. Louise Hay says every time we use the word 'should' we are making ourselves wrong: it’s a kind of mental finger-wagging.

So be honest, how many of your goals or intentions for the new year are based on a belief that you are not good enough? Behind every ‘should’ lies some kind of self-criticism. Yet we know that it is easier for us to grow in our lives when we practice self-love and acceptance for ourselves as we make changes - rather than in an atmosphere of criticism.  

The moment we start ‘shoulding’ ourselves the harder we make it to stay committed.

Are you feeling in-spired?

Now we know what to avoid in setting our intentions, it’s also useful to ask ourselves – honestly – do they inspire us? The word inspiration comes from the idea that when we are truly walking our own path we are in-spirit. And life can flow...

A wonderful way to tune into the energy of YOUR inspiration is to create a vision board. 

Get a large piece of card and a pile of magazines, glue and scissors, and spread out over the table. Take a couple of hours to browse the magazines cutting out images of the things, people, places and above all feelings you’d like to create in your life. Then stick your board somewhere that you can enjoy its inspiration throughout the next year – and put energy into those intentions that are truly heartfelt.

You can start a new year anytime

Finally, remind yourself of one of Louise Hay’s most important messages – that the point of power is always in the present moment. New Year may feel a significant time to review old goals and set new ones, but who’s to say your new year can’t start tomorrow or the day after that, or any time you choose to remind yourself that change is only ever a new thought away.