2005 is upon us. Do you remember what your New Years resolution was for 2004? Did you accomplish your goal?

If not, don't worry. The New Year is forgiving. It gives you the chance to try again. If you failed to carry through in 2004, you can avoid that failure in 2005.

First, you must really think about what your goal was in 2004. Did you have a plan for reaching your goal? Did you work on your plan? Was your goal realistic and attainable? Why was your goal not reached? The answers to these questions are important.

With the answers, you will be able to see where you went wrong in 2004, and avoid making the same mistakes in 2005.

Next, you should determine if your 2004 goal is still relevant for 2005. Is this something you still want or need? Has your goal, or your purpose in life changed? If you need a new goal, make one. Don't be afraid to ditch the old one if it is no longer what you need or want. However, you should never ditch a goal simply because it may be difficult to reach. That is giving up for the wrong reason.

Once you know what your goal for 2005 is, you need a good plan. This requires thought. You can't simply say "I want to increase my profits by 5% this year." First, you must say "I WILL increase my profits by 5% this year." Then, you need to follow through by stating exactly how you are going to do that. You will not try, you will not want, you will not attempt. You simply WILL.

Once you know what you want, and what you need to do to obtain it, outline your plan. Break it all down into little baby steps. Open up your brand new 2005 planner, and start filling in the spaces with the steps you need to take to reach your goal.

Be realistic - both in what you want and in the length of time you will need to complete the steps and reach the goal. If you set an unrealistic goal, or give yourself an unrealistic time frame to reach a goal, you are simply setting yourself up for failure.