To get your year off to a cracking start, I thought a few prompts might be in order.

First off, the key to having a successful year is to be our best today i.e. we need to live today as we would ideally like our lives to be then repeat it again tomorrow. The normalising of ‘our’ best is what leads to better performance and ultimately better outcomes. In other words, the more you put into something, the more you will get out of it.

That said, it is important we recognise the fact that we cannot have more of what we want. We can only experience more of what we’ve already got. This is because the lives we lead are a consequence of us and what we make it; not what happens to us as determined by something else. For example, if you want something to be different than it currently is, you will need to change. If however you ‘want’ the change to come about in order to ‘be’ better off, you will remain incapable of experiencing the change you are after.

When we accept it’s all about mind-set, we will come to realise that it’s up to us to create the state (of mind) we need to live the life we want. In fact the more you examine your life, the more you will see it is a direct consequence of you or, more accurately, your state of mind.

Incidentally, this is not about mind ‘over’ matter. It’s about understanding that our mind (set) ‘effects’ matter. In other words, we are the only common denominator in our lives meaning it is up to us to create what we want to experience not wish for different outcomes in order to be what we want to be.

Persistence: An interesting phenomenon most grapple with at this time of year is ‘staying the course’ for as we know, setting goals is easy. Sustaining them however is harder. One of the reasons for this is because we tend to overlook the relevance of our pursuits but in particular, the value they offer others. If we pursue something that has limited value to other people (or things), the job is made significantly harder. If however our pursuits add value to others (or other things), keeping focused becomes infinitely easier. Why? Because most of us know that it’s not about what we have that makes life meaningful, it’s about the impact we have on other people.

One final point that may be worth mentioning is the fact that happiness is not something we should pursue. Happiness is what we experience as a consequence of doing (or pursuing) what we love or believe in. ‘Being’ happy is however critical to both your success and the success of those around you.

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