We’re already into the second month of the new year, and I’m wondering how you’re doing with your plans and commitments for this year.

If you’re moving forward with your plans to be strong and healthy, you’re wisely and lovingly valuing yourself.

Perhaps though, you’ve already lost focus, gotten busy or let some distraction get you off track.  Assuming your goals are clearly defined, here are 3 tips to help keep you on the path you’ve chosen for yourself this year:

1) Discipline.  This is a tough one, I know.  It takes practice.  It’s not only about remembering what you want but actively doing something about it.  That’s a choice.

One of the best ways to achieve this is to set up visual or written aids for yourself – and to “freshen” up your reminders when they begin to blend into the background (your eyes glaze over) and you become less and less aware of them.

I post pictures of the outcomes I desire on my walls and my bathroom mirror.  Remembering what I want motivates me to choose to do something about it.  Choosing to be disciplined is a practice.   Each time you do it, you eliminate a major roadblock to your ambition or desire and each time, it gets easier to make the choice to do something actively.

2) Structure.   Don’t let the chaos of the day rule your behavior.  Make time for your goals by setting up routines.  Is there one thing you can do today and every day that will bring you closer to success with your plan, transformation or commitment you made to yourself?

Can you create a daily routine incorporating that one thing?  Let me give you an example.  I have a problem with hydration.  I need to drink more water.

So I’ve tied drinking a glass at a time to an activity.  When my alarm goes off, the first thing I do is drink a glass.  Before I begin to exercise, I drink a glass. And when I write in my journal, I drink a glass.

When you set up routines, you’ll have fewer choices; you won’t have to think about what to do or when to do it.  It will become a habit.  And as you build in structure, guess what, you’ll need less discipline.

3) Belief.  Remember that belief creates the actual fact.  It’s important to believe that what you want is in the process of becoming true.

If you don’t believe that what you want to change or how you want to transform is possible, don’t try to use effort or willpower to change your beliefs.

Instead picture in great detail a result that you would like to have.  Dwell on this picture daily for about 30 minutes, while you’re relaxing.  The more details you incorporate into your mental picture, the greater your success will be.

As Emile Coué, a French pharmacist, concluded in his Law of Reversed Effort, when imagination and the will do battle, imagination will triumph constantly.

If you’ve gotten off track, are distracted or lost your focus, ask yourself why.  It might be because the goal or commitment you chose is not right for you at this time.

On the other hand, if you determine it is the appropriate time, you are committed and feel ready, then the tips above will help you to follow through with your commitments and achieving your goals.

Please share how you’re doing with your goals below.  I’d love to know how you’re doing.