You know, some days I just really feel like giving up. In fact (just between you and me), most days I feel like that, sometimes for just a moment, sometimes for much of the day. You know those times when the obstacles just seem so big and complex, and impossible to overcome. And you start to wonder why you chose to do something so difficult anyway. And it’s warm, safe and simple under your duvet and cold, unpredictable and nasty outside…

Yes, I know I’m not supposed to say that. Life coaches are supposed to have endless energy, enthusiasm, and optimism, and have permanently purged their vocabulary of words like, “can’t” and “quit.” Yeah right.

Do you remember that time when, as a young child, you came across an abandoned baby animal, and brought it home, asking your parents, “Can I keep it?” It might have been a little baby mouse or a tiny stray kitten, or maybe it was a baby bird with a slightly broken wing. Whatever the little creature was, it was small and vulnerable and you decided immediately that you’d rescue it and devote yourself to feeding and nurturing it to full strength and maturity. Mine was a little baby bird that was teetering around in our back garden one afternoon. We looked everywhere for the mother bird, or at least a nest, but we found no sign of it’s maternal protector.

Well, 1 January 2008 is only several days history and many people have already broken, discarded or forgotten their new year’s resolutions by now.

One of the main reasons why new years resolutions have notoriously poor results is that most people decide on new years wishes, rather than goals, and they leave out some of the most important steps in the goal setting process. Wishes or “dream lists” are an important part of getting in touch with your imagination and generating exciting ideas for goals, but they lack the strong foundations of an honest review of your current situation, and the clear blue prints for action that are created when you follow the goal setting process. As a result, new years wishes fall away as soon as the smallest obstacle challenges your motivation.