Three Ways To Make 2007 Your Best Year

The new year is upon us, and you've probably set some New Year's resolutions or new goals. You've reminisced over the past year's successes as well as heartbreaks, and look to 2007 with optimism. This is going to be a great year, and you're determined to start it off on the right foot.

But how can you insure that the resolutions stick, the goals are accomplished, and the dreams come true?

Stop focusing on the things you don't want
Whether it's worry over finances, being unhappy at your job, or anything that upsets you or makes you unhappy - stop it right now. You may have heard this one before, but the truth is, what you focus on expands and becomes reality. If you continually think and worry about being broke, you are either going to be or stay broke. If you obsess over how unhappy you are in your current job (or anything) the more you will be unhappy.

That's just the way things work. The more you think about anything, the more it comes true for you. This is because thoughts, like seeds in the ground, multiply. It really doesn't matter to a garden what type of seeds are planted, the garden's job is to help the seeds multiply and grow into plants. The same thing is true of your mind. If you plant positive and empowering thought seeds, your mind will work to multiply and grow them.

Unfortunately, the same thing is true for negative and debilitating thoughts. They multiply and grow. The end result is that your conscious thoughts seep into your subcounscious mind, which is the part of your mind that acts as your guidance system and a sort of autopilot that controls how you act.

Your subconscious mind can't think for itself. It takes whatever you give it in the form of thoughts, and points you in directions and causes you to act in ways that are consistent with how you think. So if you are consciously focusing on things that cause you stress, anger, and despair, your subconscious mind will point out more situations that support your thinking.

Start focusing on what you want
When you focus on what you want, and visualize the details of the results that you are looking for, you condition your mind to seek whatever it is that you are visualizing.

Work on focusing your thoughts on the way you want things to be. What kind of goals do you want to achieve this year? What kind of life do you want to live? Whatever you come up with, discover why it is that you want these things. When you ask yourself "why" questions, you not only come up with compelling reasons for doing things, but these reasons can turn into forces of incredible motivation.

Maybe you want to achieve a sales goal for the year because of the money you will earn. Focus on the end result, and in this case, the things that the money you will earn are going to buy you. Maybe it's things like a new car, vacations, a new home, etc. Visualize in great detail the things that you are going to have with your increased earnings. Find pictures of the car that you are going to buy, the vacation destinations you are going to visit, and the house you are going to live in, and spend time every day thinking about and visualizing what it will be like to have the things that you want.

The key is to not only visualize yourself in the picture with the new car or whatever, but to generate the feeling of having already achieved your goal. Get excited about it, and be excited about it. The way you feel about achieving your goal and having the things you want have a very important impact on actually achieving it, so it is important to mentally take ownership of the things you want and generate positive feelings about them.

Be grateful for what you already have
This is one of the often overlooked steps in many goal setting and personal improvement programs. I'm listing it last, but it probably should have been listed first because without being grateful for what you already have and the good things that come into your life, you cannot go long without becoming disatisfied or taking things for granted.

When you acknowledge what you have and show gratitude for people, things, and events in your life, you develop an expectation that good things are going to happen to you. When you believe that good things will happen, you develop faith, which is one of the most important qualities in achieving goals and making the things you want to happen a reality. And when you look for good things to happen, you look for the good in all situations, and you find it.

So to make sure that 2007 is your best year yet, remember to think about and focus on the things you want. It does require some effort, but everything worthwhile does. Make a point to see things not as they are, but how you would like them to be. When you focus on what you want, visualize the details until you can take mental ownership of the things you desire, and feel the same feelings that you will feel when you have the things you want.

And most of all, be grateful for what you have and the great things that happen to you every day. If you start to look for things to be grateful for, you will undoubtedly find them. Start to use the three strategies I have discussed here, and I guarantee you will see great results in your life.