Do you have big changes planned for your life this year? January 1st seems to bring out the optimist in us. Not that that's bad - we just sometimes over-commit and under-plan which seems to open the door to fast failure. If you have had enough failure with New Year's Resolutions to last a lifetime you might want to consider some tactical changes - assuming you do want to win both the 'war' and the 'battle'.

You need to decide why the change you have resolved to do is important to you. If your 'why' is big enough the 'how' will present itself! Funny, we seem to be more able to keep commitments we make for/to other people. 'I'll quit smoking because my daughter is worried about my chronic cough' seems to work better for some people than 'I want to improve my health'. 'My boyfriend doesn't like to kiss me because I taste like an ashtray 'often works better than 'I don't like the way I smell after I smoke.'

It takes 21 days of consistent effort to create a new habit. So, for weight reduction, for example, eating changes and activity increases need to be done in gradual steps that can be built upon. Some easier first steps might be 'eat 6 small servings of protein and 6 small servings of veggies everyday'. This strategy for food correction works because we haven't taken anything away, there is no deprivation mentality, and you never get ravenously hungry when you have permission (and follow through with it) to eat 6 smaller meals each day. Set an 'easy-to-achieve' plan of walking 15 extra minutes each day. No spandex required, and 15 minutes can easily be done indoors in office buildings or shopping malls when the weather is bad.

Focus on the positive - what you will do - rather than what you won't do. We aren't working with 'won't power'.  We are working with 'will power'. Set goals in small increments that you know you can maintain for 21 days at a time. It is far more empowering to be a massive success in baby steps that to be a huge failure in one step.

Make 'tandem changes' if they fit together well. For example, many people link drinking coffee with having a cigarette. It makes sense to work on these together. Rather than quitting both 'cold turkey' it may work better to do it more gently and to use choice words and delayed gratification. 'I can choose to have one cigarette and ½ cup of coffee at 10:30 AM if I still want them then. I can make it 'til 10:30, no problem!'

Our past experiences and 'self-talk' can really sabotage us. We often let our past dictate our future.  'I can do this' is often followed by 'Oh, yeah? Says who?' or 'what makes you think you can do it THIS time - you've never been able to before!' 'You've tried before and failed, so what's gonna make the difference now?' Sometimes, okay, most of the time, we need some deep down, core idea changes. This is a great time to use energy balancing techniques like EFT. If you want to create the energy of success in a specific area EFT can catapult you into that energy change in a matter of minutes and may save you months of struggling to change your mind set. It's a great way to erase the baggage of past failures and the residual effects of 'nay-sayers' quickly and easily and on your own terms!

Here's to your huge success in 2009!

Judith Cobb