< PreviousSMART HEALTHY WOMEN MAGAZINE - PAGE 592018 should be the best year ever and it can be if you are prepared to get serious. Forget about new year’s resolutions, they are a waste of time and instead make a contract with yourself. We all enter in commercial contracts to buy things as basic as phones, internet and Netflix, so why not enter into a commercial contract with ourselves to improve our life. Our lives are more important than keeping up with the latest TV drama series, aren’t they? This is a great way to give your aspirations and goals a solid structure and plan to motivate you. Not only is drawing up a physical contract with yourself the best option to get what you want, but looking at things in your immediate surroundings is also important. Nothing in your contract will be achieved and no change will occur until you make re-evaluate key aspects of your life prior to entering into the contract.- PAGE 60 - SMART HEALTHY WOMEN MAGAZINETo see real change in your life, I strongly recommend taking a moment to stand back and look at the people around you and ask yourself whether you want to be like these people. On average we surround ourselves with five main people and if these people don’t reflect who you want to be then you need to re-evaluate your relationships. To start thinking on a different level you need to be around people who are on a higher level than yourself. You’ll continuously think in the same way unless you are challenged to do otherwise. Having a good mentor or coach also helps to create clarity and get you to that break-through point people always strive for as they use good questioning techniques to encourage you to see your situation from a different perspective. Simply by immersing yourself in material from some great coaches is a way I encourage people to start thinking on a higher level. People like Anthony Robbins and Earl Nightingale are great motivators who offer excellent advice and tips to make changes in your life and achieve your goals. Here are five steps I’ve developed to help you create a lasting and successful ‘self-contract’.SMART HEALTHY WOMEN MAGAZINE - PAGE 611. WORK OUT WHAT YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE IN 2018 In order to plan your self-contract, it is crucial that you identify what you want to achieve. After that, you need to give yourself a time these things need to be achieved as well as outlining what needs to be done. 2. SPEAK WITH SIGNIFICANT PEOPLE IN YOUR LIFE TO DISCUSS THE CHANGES YOU NEED TO MAKE TO ACHIEVE YOUR GOAL/S By discussing your goals with people in your inner circle you are creating a support network around you. They may even have suggestions or good ideas to help you. It will keep you accountable as well as providing you with encouragement in times of need. 3. DRAW UP A CONTRACT WITH YOURSELF TO CONFIRM THE ACTIONS, DATES AND MILESTONES The more detail you put in your contract the better. This will allow you to have something to check with every so often. You need to make sure you set yourself clear milestones to show progression.- PAGE 62 - SMART HEALTHY WOMEN MAGAZINE4. BUILD IN REWARDS FOR YOURSELF AS YOU REACH MILESTONES AND GOALS Within the milestones and goals, you set out to achieve in your contract, you need to be sure that there are planned rewards. Self-encouragement is a vital part of growth and development. Keep your inner circle updated on your pro-gress through progress report.5. SIGN THE DOCUMENT IN FRONT OF YOUR INNER CIRCLE - GET THEM TO WITNESS IT Once the details have been finalized, it is important for you to sign the contract in a way that makes it a celebratory affair. You are embarking on a life changing journey, so why not make it a big deal? By involving your inner circle in the process of not only watching you sign the con-tract but even getting them to sign it places it as a high priority. You need to put the contract in a prominent place in your home as well as providing a copy to your inner circle. SMART HEALTHY WOMEN MAGAZINE - PAGE 63- PAGE 64 - SMART HEALTHY WOMEN MAGAZINESTEP INTO THE REAL YOU & BE ‘ON PURPOSE’ ALL YEARby Rachel AllanYou set a New Year’s Resolution and here it is well into January and you have FAILED. Summer got in the way, children got in the way, you lost focus and energy. Health goals, life goals, business goals…all lost. What are you planning to do for the next 11 months of the year? Complain and feel like a failure. Maybe you are ready to hit the reset button and start again. A very plausible thing to do. Limiting yourself to new beginnings for only the start of the year will lead you to failure – always. By setting yourself well thought out goals and intentions for the future year. SMART HEALTHY WOMEN MAGAZINE - PAGE 65Breaking those down into quarters, month, and weekly actions. You not only space out your success over the whole year, you also now that little-by-little daily you are working towards your big goals. Then at the end of the year when you reflect you will see many reasons to celebrate and feel achievement.There are many tools you can use to gain clarity and stay focused throughout the year, both on the daily things and the big picture. You can also join programs which help you with accountability and support to keep moving forward.You may find yourself experimenting with different tools until you find something which works for you and your style. You may also find as part of this process you start to reflect on you, your weaknesses, your strengths, who you are as a person or who you would like to be as a person. How you want people to see you, what you would like to be known for and how you want to show up in life andIt is essential when you set goals it encompasses all areas – your business, life, and self. Goals which excite you, scare you, stretch you and take you out of your comfort zone. Goals which will grow you as a person. Step into that person. Bring along your support people and your cheer squad. Enjoy it. Do it with intention and integrity. - PAGE 66 - SMART HEALTHY WOMEN MAGAZINEHere are some steps you can take to create an amazing year – and you can do this whenever you need to:STEP 1Create a vision board or write down your inspirationIn a snapshot what qualities will you improve. What will keep you inspired to achieve your goals in each area of business, life and self – how do you want each area to look, feel, be seen. What is your word for the year. The word which will remind you about your inspiration.STEP 2This is for those in businessCreate a one-page snapshot of your business plan. What is your super power, what keeps your energised in business, your passions, your why, your mission, what are you disrupting and finally your goals for each business or project.STEP 3Create a one-page snapshot of your life planYour I am statements, your purpose, your vision, your values and finally your goals for different areas of your life.SMART HEALTHY WOMEN MAGAZINE - PAGE 67STEP 4Add your goals to your plannerI use a planner for this step – you may choose another format. Add your goals to the planner, breaking them down into quarterly, monthly, and weekly. Look at the time you have available (do you need to consider school holidays for example) and deadlines you may have. Be realistic as to what you can achieve.STEP 5Stay focused and accountable. Everyday spend the time bit-by-bit working towards the big picture goal. Enjoy the ride. Find an accountability buddy or group, this is the best way to stay focused on what you want to achieve.- PAGE 68 - SMART HEALTHY WOMEN MAGAZINESTEP 6Always celebrateTake time to celebrate the small wins and the big successes. Give yourself a reward for all your hard work. While some goals may seem easier than others to achieve; every time you tick a goal of you are closer to becoming the best version of yourself.You can apply these steps to any goals you may have in life. They could be about business, money, career advancement, your children or partner, your health, weight or stress levels. Any combination of these – your unique life is yours. Your goals, your wants and needs are as unique as you. There is no one shoe that fits everyone. You need to choose how you want to show up in life. What does success look like to you? What does balance look like to you? Once you determine these things for yourself and you set the goals or pathways to becoming that person, only then will you become the best version of yourself. `Live a life that is purely on your own terms`Next >