Are you ready for the New Year? Have you given any thought to what it might hold? Or what you might achieve?

As we move into the New Year it’s quite common to start to think of changes you’d like to make, or things you’d like to create for yourself over the next 12 months. Many people make New Year’s resolutions, dedicating themselves to the idea of things that they are resolved to change for the coming year……sadly few stick to them for long.

Lots of good intentions on the first of January remain just that, good intentions, because people haven’t put in the planning to enable them to carry it through the year. Even many people I know that set goals, and set out in earnest to work towards those, often fall short of creating what they truly desire – but it doesn’t have to be this way.

You may be wondering what qualifies me to be speaking to you about making this year your best year yet – am I just another coach, instructing you to walk straight down the path of goals, never taking time to enjoy the diversions and distractions life brings your way? NO – that’s not me at all! But I do know how to work out what I want from life, and how to go on and create that, and as a breakthrough mentor I am qualified to share that with you.

In January 2014 I spent a week on my own by the coast where I manifested what I wanted to achieve for the year – I went on to lead a group to the rooftop of North Africa for International Women’s Day, to walk over 100 fires in one evening, and to write my first book. All incredible stuff! And there’s no reason you shouldn’t be creating incredible stuff for yourself too.

Creating a year that truly floats your boat isn’t that hard to do either – a week by the coast or some other far flung retreat is not essential to enabling you to figure out what you want this year, and a life of avoiding everything that makes you happy is not needed to ensure you achieve what you set out for.

However, being organised, focused, brave, and supported, may well be qualities you’ll need from yourself and those around you. Whether you want to lose weight, or build a 6 figure business, enter into a new loving relationship, or move along on your spiritual journey, the same rules apply. So, if you’re up for giving it a go, here are my top tips for making 2015 your best year yet:

1. Hold a closing ceremony – It’s really important to close down last year, before you open up this new year.

If you think about life like it were a journey you are planning on a map, the 2 things you really need to know are where you want to get to AND where you are starting from.

Take some time to reflect on the year gone by – What went well? What went badly? What learnings will you take from it? Look back on your year without judgement, what happened, happened; celebrate your successes, but don’t beat yourself up over the things that didn’t go so well. Instead, take stock of where you are, be honest with yourself, but be kind. When you feel that you have truly uncovered the truths behind last year close down the year (burn a candle, spend time meditating, put a bottle in the sea…. The choice of how is yours), you are now ready to begin your 2016 adventure.

2. Be honest about what you want – I would say one of a number of problems that occur when people don’t achieve their goals, is that it’s not actually their goal, but what they see others doing.

It’s so easy to look at what other people are achieving, or working towards, and to tell ourselves that we should probably want the same. If you look back at what I have done over the last year you will see that this is most certainly not the case.

If you have big, crazy dreams, like me, that’s great. But if your number one goal this year is to be a good stay-at-home mum, then that’s great too – this was also my goal 10 years ago.

[Tweet “Don’t be afraid to have your goals reflect what is truly in your heart for yourself”]

We all go through different ages and stages of life, so don’t be afraid to have your goals reflect what is truly in your heart for yourself. Anything else is a waste of the beautiful soul you are, and a waste of the potential you have, because any other goals are unlikely to be achieved, and even less likely to make you happy.

3. Decide you’re going to do it – This sounds simple, right? But so many people self-sabotage by setting goals and then, in the next breath, telling themselves they won’t be able to stick to them. Sound familiar?

Our self-belief gets undermined for so many reasons; maybe you’ve tried to achieve this thing before (maybe many times) but never actually stuck to it. Maybe people around you knock your confidence by making jokes about your ability to succeed. Maybe just the idea of what you want to create for yourself scares you to pieces. Maybe, maybe, maybe……

To truly bring about what you desire for your year you need to leave the word ‘maybe' behind and decide that you ARE going to. As Yoda from Star Wars said ‘do, or do not, there is no try’.

4. Use all the support you can get – I’m sure you won’t have to look far to find people that are ready to help you on your journey.

It’s really important to surround yourself with positive people that are as committed to helping you on your 2015 journey, as you are to getting yourself where you want to be. This also means that, just as I touched on in point 3, it’s important to distance yourself from those that are not going to support you, especially those that ridicule you, or nay-say your dreams.

This can be really difficult, but the good news is there are lots of people out there that can assist you. Find your tribe, and don’t be afraid to call on them for support. If you have lots of great friends that can do this for you that’s great, but if not don’t panic, there are lots of people out there – you just need to find them.

I’ve found groups of like-minded people on social media a really great way of finding support – there will be kindred spirits out there, even if you have to go looking for them.

Don’t be afraid to gain professional support too – this could be in the shape of working with a personal coach, or mentor. It could involve working with someone that specialises in what you want to achieve, or it could just be keeping yourself uplifted by reading inspirational online resources like this magazine, or some of the many fantastic blogs that are out there.

There’s lots of support to be had – make the most of it all, and find out what works best for you.

5. Monthly check-ins – don’t forget to review how you’re getting on, before it’s too late to change anything.

Monthly check-ins are really important. It’s so vital that you celebrate everything that’s going well, that you’ve already achieved for yourself, and that you have created. This is the number one way to keep you motivated, and focused on where you’re headed.

If things aren’t going so well, or you have gone off track, having a monthly check-in will mean that you can make adaptations to what you’re doing, and reassess how you’re going to do it.

I hope you’ll consider putting some of these five pointers into place for yourself as you go into 2016 – whatever it is that you plan to achieve, I believe that the New Year will bring you all the opportunities you need to achieve beyond your wildest dreams.

So here’s to your best year yet!