One of my favorite quotes is from Tony Robbins who said, “A real decision is measured by the fact that you’ve taken a new action. If there’s no action, you haven’t truly decided.”

During the holiday season, I love to review my year and set new goals for the next year. This way, once January 1st arrives, I’m in GO mode. I know what I want to do, I have my plan and I’m ready to take action.  But just having the plan in our head isn’t always enough.

So I thought I’d share some tips for goal setting that leads to action and for a fresh twist, I’m infusing them with some yoga-inspired moves:

1. No more “resolutions.” Set goals and WRITE them down. Nothing new here, you’ve probably heard that before, but you have to do it. There’s just something tangible to putting it down on paper. I mention this in my book – when you have that Aha moment for a product idea, you must write it down bring it to life! Same with your goals, make them real.

2. After writing them down, stay seated and relax! Close your eyes and VISUALIZE yourself achieving these goals. Picture yourself at the “finish line.” Take some deep breaths and enjoy the view.  Come back to this visualization daily, even if only for 60 seconds while making your tea/coffee in the AM or at night before bed. Soon enough, you’ll begin to “act as if” you have reached your goal. Your body believes it, so you can too!

3. Give yourself a MANTRA. A mantra is a word or phrase that you repeat over and over to yourself during the day in order to achieve a specific effect…in this case, to give you the confidence and strength to reach your goals. Many of us have negative mantras, just think about it! Do you ever allow yourself to repeat negative thoughts? Most of us do. Become aware of when that happens and quickly plug in your new positive mantra instead. It’s easy, I promise! And it’s not weird or “out there.” You’re doing it anyway, really. You can make up your own mantra or use one that already exists (there are lots of them in Sanskrit). It can be as simple as three words: “Confidence, Strength, Persistence.”  Or “I will launch my business this year.”  “I will follow my passion and my dream!”  Anything goes here, so no excuses. Once you have your own customized mantra, you’ll start the see the difference it makes when you repeat powerful, positive words all day long! If you do practice yoga, try saying your mantra during sun salutations, I love these moving meditations.

So this year, forget the silly resolutions and come January 1st be armed and ready to go with your goals. If you utilize these three steps, you will have clarity of mind, enthusiasm, an abundance of energy and a truly positive force inside that keeps you on the path to reach your own personal goals.

Success means different things to everyone; be true to yourself. Then look at these steps every week and review and tweak…oh and celebrate too!

“Action is the foundational key to all success.” – Pablo Picasso

Please let me know how youre doing! Tweet me @SandyAbrams or FB www.facebook.com/sandyabramsinc