Resolve to get on top of goals the smart way

Christmas is over and whether or not you choose to accept it, a whole new set of challenges, failures and successes await with the coming of the New Year.

This year has been a good one but it is now time to get your "A into G" and start thinking about what sorts of things you want to accomplish in 2015.

I see the media promoting the importance of New Year's resolutions, but what startles me is how rarely these goals are actually achieved.

The majority of the time we lose focus of the targets set and often forget what we really want to do to improve ourselves.

And as the year draws to a close we suddenly become aware of things we haven't achieved and the mentality is "Oh well, there is always next year".

In order to reach goals, there must be a level of commitment and time set aside to work on them individually.

In school we learn about SMART goals (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely). The SMART method of goal setting can be helpful if you know what you want to accomplish throughout the year.

However, this may not be for you so I would advise starting small and working your way up.

It may be to lose a kilo, or get your best result possible on the first test of the year. It could be seemingly insignificant, but put a time limit on it and make sure you follow through on it.

You can't expect to master a new language in a week, just like you can't assume all your 2015 targets can be ticked off without really working for them.

I will leave you with a famous adaptation from a French proverb, "Rome wasn't built in a day".