The arrival of a new year brings with it the feelings of unyielding possibility and unparalleled motivation to alter one’s lifestyle for the better. 2013 has the potential to not only bring about much-needed change to worsening habits, but also to simultaneously create a thriving environment for yourself that will carry forward in to the coming months. One of the best ways to bring about these aforementioned changes is to create goals that must be reached in the upcoming year for the year to be considered successful. Whether it be through writing out your goals everyday and looking at them throughout the day or through reminding yourself through a note on your computer, it is undeniable that in order for your goals and dreams to become a reality in 2013, action - aggressive action - must be taken.

Sticking to your goals requires some sacrifices from yourself. Because you are committing to a better lifestyle choice, a certain amount of discomfort and doubt will inevitably creep into your mind as you are in the first few months of the year. Don’t give up on yourself during these times.

Psychologists have noted that for a habit to fully implement itself in an individual, the most important thing a person can do is to simply work at the activity for a short amount of time everyday. In other words, start small.

For instance, if you have set the goal to read a non-fiction book every month, then the best thing you can do is to set the goal of reading for, say, five minutes, every single day. This may seem counter-intuitive to some because they think: “how will reading a few pages (of a presumably 300 to 700 page) every day help a person make any substantial progress towards finishing the task within a month?” In reality, the key behind the assertion is that if you commit to reading the book for only five minutes a day at minimum, then once you have read for five minutes, you will most likely be encouraged to continue reading the book. You see, human beings naturally gravitate towards tasks that will yield enjoyment and pleasure rather than tasks that require immense focus and motivation. As a result, the idea of simply reading five minutes a day will help the individual to enter the task with the sense that it is an “easy” and enjoyable activity. After the five minutes, the person will most likely continue to read the book because they first saw the activity as a small commitment and took the decision to start the activity.

When good habits need to be formed, it is, many times, the simple act of beginning the activity (for example, deciding to drive to the gym and then deciding to actually work out or not as opposed to making the decision within the comforts of your own home).

Starting a new goal or a new lifestyle choice requires a huge upfront cost from yourself; however, in the first few weeks or months of your embarking on this endeavour, you may find yourself sticking to your goals because of the increased motivation and positivity that comes from trying new things.

But, in time, the “beginner’s surge” dies out and you are faced with the choice of either putting yourself through the doldrums of the goal in the upcoming months or to mark the journey as a failed one and return to the lifestyle of the past. It is in this stage that reminding yourself to finish what you started will help you to push through the upcoming months.

If you are still feeling discomfort with your goals, then remind yourself that if you’re not uncomfortable very much in your pursuit to success, then you are not going to grow much either. In other words, get comfortable with being uncomfortable!

A diamond doesn’t start out with the astounding qualities that make it worthy of its high price (it actually starts out as coal). In fact, as motivational speaker Eric Thomas states, “if you want to shine like a diamond, you have to get cut like a diamond.” In his remarks, Thomas is referring to the extreme pressure conditions in which coal is turned into a diamond. “We all look alike on the outside, but each time we go through pressure, each time we go through a year, each time we go through an experience, the real you is going to come out…embrace the constructive criticism,” states Thomas.

If your 2013 goals involve activities such as a new diet or a new workout regimen, seek out a friend (or friends) that is in pursuit of these same ideas and work out a schedule with them in which you and your friend can motivate one another to stick to the commitments you made at the beginning of the year. Also, constantly seek out a motivational speaker like Thomas and download their videos in an mp3 format and listen to them while you work out or during the day in order to prepare your mind and body to take on your goals daily.

Robin Sharma, another motivational speaker and author of best-selling books, states on his website, “Get to know yourself. The main reason we procrastinate on our goals is not because of external conditions; we procrastinate due to our internal beliefs. And the thing is they are stuck so deep that we don’t even know they exist. But once you do, everything changes.”

If you find yourself not working towards your daily goals, then take the time to sit down and figure out what exactly is preventing you from pursuing them with the drive and motivation you had when you initially began the task. 

Speakers like Thomas and Sharma remind you that while some people talk about what they are going to do in life, there are other individuals who, instead of talking, simply take action towards fulfilling their goals and, in the process, find themselves with unmitigated successes. The process may be difficult, but, in the end, you will find yourself “shining like a diamond” and look towards welcoming in 2014 with a sense of self-confidence that only comes from achieving your goals.