Forget Expectations – Set Goals.

Many of us have great expectations for 2015. Some expect to progress in their career, others expect to become rich. Many people quite simply expect the world – which is nice if life was a fairy tale, but none of us should really expect anything from anyone.

Expecting things to happen for you is a dead-end. If you want something, you need to make it happen. You need to learn to set goals and stick to them.

Here’s how:

1. You may have heard this painfully unoriginal hint before, but that’s because it works. You need to get into the habit of making lists. Make a new list every day of things you need to do. Start off slow, even if your list only has three things, but here’s the trick – you need to do everything on that list, no matter what. This builds discipline, discipline breeds habit, and your habits are what makes you who you are.
2. You must hate me now, and I’ve only given you the second hint… just bare with me here. We all know your mood, productivity and attitude rely on your physical health, but when you train your body, you also train your mind. Exercise results in endorphin production in your body, making you happy. You are teaching yourself that hard work results in you being happy on a subconscious level. Our brains are rather primitive after all, aren’t they?
3. Learn to clear your mind. There’s always going to be a lot going on around you, a million different distractions. The key here is to learn to focus your attention on the task at hand. Picture your mind as a wooden floor, and your concentration as a Janitor, sweeping away distracting thoughts like dust. This sounds absolutely ridiculous, but trust me, it works! This is also something that teaches you discipline over time.
4. Start believing new things about yourself. Goals are great, but habits are far more powerful. The underlying factors of behaviour change and building better habits lies your identity. Each action you perform is driven by the fundamental belief that it is possible, so if you change your identity (the type of person that you believe that you are), then it’s easier to change your actions.

Follow these steps if you really want to stick to your goals in 2015, but above all else, remember to have fun! The universe is a pretty big place and the only place where trepidation and negativity exists is in that soft grey blob in your skull. Get rid of all that and just make time to do things that you enjoy.