AT the time of year when we are reflecting on the previous 12 months and thinking about what perhaps we would change about our lives in order to be happier, new year's resolutions may have been the hot topic of conversation in your household recently.

So have you made yours?

Or maybe, through past failed attempts, you're not bothering this year?

Either way there are methods that you can adopt in order to make positive changes more achievable.

Look back on previous resolutions, why were they not as successful as you'd hoped? Maybe in reality, the outcome was not worth the effort involved in getting there? Learn from this when setting new goals, it's no good just hoping you'll be successful, you have to know that you'll be successful. Positive thinking and self discipline are skills that can change your life.

Self-discipline occurs in every part of your life, you might not have recognised this but it does. When you get out of bed in the morning to go to work, that's self discipline; when you brush your teeth every morning, that's self discipline; when you have a shower every morning, that's self discipline. Imagine if you harnessed this power to change different aspects of your life, you could achieve anything you put your mind to!

Let's take the most common desires….. if you want to give up smoking, no matter what programmes are available to do so, it ultimately comes down to self discipline. If you want to lose weight, yes it's great to find groups of like minded people who can help to motivate you but again, it's all about your own self discipline. Just knowing this and making yourself responsible for your actions on the road to your goals can make a huge difference.

Coupled with this is your motivation to make these changes to your life. The two come very much hand in hand. Motivation is the driving force behind self discipline. If you want to get fitter, for example, you need to have a reason to want to get fit. Is it to be able to run up the stairs at work without being red faced and puffed out at the top? Is it perhaps to aid in losing weight? Or is it simply to live longer? Your motivation is yours and yours alone. A wish is not strong enough to make you take action. A wish is a weak desire. In order to get motivated, you need to know exactly what it is that you want, to possess a strong desire and to be willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish your goal. So if getting fit is your 2012 desire, you need to be very clear about how you will achieve it, even going so far as to diarise exact times for going out for a walk or going to the gym etc, and then visualise yourself a fitter, healthier person. Failure is not an option.

For more information about Lichfield Health and Fitness Club, call 01543 257704.