Last week I talked about visioning, about writing in the present tense and getting emotionally attached to your vision and goals. Sometimes we get intimidated by goals. But truly, goal setting is just a blueprint for the life you want to achieve and live! We often set (or reset) our goals at milestones – our birthday, an anniversary, at the New Year. The nice thing about New Year’s goal setting is that we have the feeling a clean slate – a fresh opportunity. December is a great time to plan for the coming year.

Here are some ideas for setting goals you can manage and following through on them so you feel in control instead of overwhelmed. Note: You CAN achieve the life you dream of! Really.

First, think about what you want to accomplish. Make this about what YOU want. Not about what you think you should want or should be doing and not what someone else thinks we ought to be doing, or wishes we were. This is the time to decide what will make you happy and feel accomplished. What would you do if you didn’t care what anyone else thought? What do you want to achieve in various areas of your life: financial, health, spiritual, relationships and work satisfaction? Take the time to think this through and write it down. Be bold!

Next, set goals for each area of your life that is important to you. Be realistic. Slow and steady wins the race. Too often we make our goals huge, setting the stage for disappointment, overwhelm or both. Think about a balanced life. What makes you feel content? If you only focus on one are of your life – career or business for example, you’re telling yourself (and the universe) that’s all you care about. That isn’t true! When you take the time to think about the holistic being you and set goals for ALL the aspects of your life:  career, relationships, health, finances, spirituality and emotional wellness, you begin to envision a balanced lifestyle, which is what will make you feel happy and satisfied – ultimately.

Now that you’ve taken the time to think through what you want, create mini-goals. These are the steps to the larger goals. Big goal overwhelm, tasks are manageable and move us toward the desired outcome much more easily. We’re more likely to do that which we can wrap our minds around. Small steps. Break each goal down into mini-goals or actions that add up to the final goal. For example, if you have the goal of losing ten pounds in 2012, list the actions you can take to make that a reality: what exercise will you add? How will you change your eating habits? Who can support you in making those changes? A coach? A friend? A partner or spouse? Engage your support system. Speaking your goals aloud makes you accountable and keeps you focused and on track.

You want to visualize yourself reaching each goal and mini-goal. You can even build in rewards. Small, but delicious. An hour to yourself to sit in a café and day dream – a Saturday with no plans, to do whatever you want. Create a vision board and fill it with feeling – your emotions will work much better than a list will. Write in the present tense how you feel and read it EVERY day. Create affirmations and put them on your bathroom mirror where you’ll see them every day – multiple times. Something like: I am fit, healthy ______ pounds. I have great energy and I love the way I look and feel. The visualization and affirmation process doesn’t take much time, but the repetition over time will get results.

You must take action. The mini-goals help make the action manageable so you avoid overwhelm and quit before you even get started. Taking some sort of action every day to achieve your goals lets your subconscious mind know that you are serious about what you are doing. In fact, your subconscious doesn’t know the difference between reality and something made up – that’s how you can effectively reprogram your mind!

Enlist support! Having someone in your court makes all the difference in the world. It doesn’t mean you’re weak or incapable – it means you’re human. Get a coach or join a support group of like-minded people who can help you with your goals. A coach can be great encouragement and a cheerleader for you, but can also get you moving when you are stuck. Asking for help is not a weakness but strength, as life doesn’t happen alone. It takes courage to ask for help – give it a try and watch your goals become more and more achievable – they’ll be within reach and then become reality.

Make goal setting fun. Play, be creative, fantasize, then get practical and create mini-goals, your blueprint for the year. Visualize, affirm, realize and experience joy, passion and possibility. Happy new year!

Certified Mentor & Coach for Women Reeny Barron Law of Attraction, Energy Psychology and New generation techniques to empower transformational entrepreneurs to achieve their life and business goals aligning mindset and marketing – Connecting Heart and Business to Attract the Right Clients, Income and Lifestyle.   Her blogs, includes inspirational articles showing you how to use your business to create your ideal lifestyle.  Grab the full article, “Get Unstuck -Ideas to Release your Creativity, at http://www.womencreatingpossibilities.com