Have you made a New Year’s Resolution for this year? Is it the same one you made last year or the year before?

Many of us use the start of a new year to recognise the things that aren’t working in our lives, or the things we want to be different. We believe that if only something was different we would be happy. That our lives would be perfect or at least more to our liking than they currently are. And in fact a New Year’s Resolution is a great place to start on a new road.

We have the best intentions in the world at the start of a new year – as if just turning the page of a calendar will mean that we will take the action this year that we didn’t manage to achieve the last time around. My question is this: what will make this year any different than the last?

The only thing that can be different is you!

You are the one who sets the goals and therefore you are the one who decides whether to achieve them or not. However, the best intentions in the world will not change your life unless you have the conviction to take an action every day which will draw you closer to your goals. It may feel like it’s hopeless; that your goal is too big. Or that you have tried so many times before and never been able to achieve it, so why bother.

But you can change your life! You have the power in this moment – The POWER of NOW.

Every moment you are in is NOW. And now is all there is.

Let me explain.

Let’s say your New Year’s Resolution is to exercise more and make healthier food choices (this is one of the most common New Year’s Resolutions and has been for many years).

However, you have food left over from Christmas and the New Year celebrations in your fridge. You have a choice to make. You can delay the actions which will take you closer to your goal and eat up the leftovers as you hate to waste food: or you can donate the food to a homeless shelter, friends or maybe to a family in your street who is less fortunate than you.

Let me ask you this: Which is more wasteful? For you to eat it and then feel bad about yourself? Or to allow others to enjoy your gift?

The POWER of NOW is exactly that. NOW! This minute. Not on Monday or when the leftovers are eaten up; NOW. The second you allow yourself to wait, to procrastinate or to put it off … is the second you decide your resolution is not important enough to prioritize at the top of your list.

That’s not to say you can’t start where you are and still achieve your goals. The key is to choose what you want to achieve and to keep choosing it every day. Only by this consistent and determined method will you reach your goals. You cannot do it once in a while, when you remember, or when you feel like it. It has to become a habit; an action you take every day. It is the simple act of choosing and acting from that choice over and over again which will deliver the results you want.

If you are not sure of the actions you need to take to move you closer to your desired outcome then ask for help. Talk it through with a Life Coach, a close friend or family member and ask them to keep reminding you of your goal. Sometimes life gets busy and stressful and we can forget our purpose in creating a New Year’s Resolution in the first place. Having a friend or mentor on board as a support can really make a big difference.

You do have another choice. You can decide to make a New Year’s Resolution and then not take the action to achieve it. You can blame the food in the fridge, the weather outside, lack of time or any number of other forces outside of yourself. However, none of these have any power in your life – only you have that. And therefore the only person who can make a change or continue exactly as you are; is you.

Will you take action today? Or will you look back in several months or a year and understand how different your life would look NOW if you had spent 2015 taking the daily steps toward your New Year’s Resolution? Imagine how that would feel? To know you could have reached your goals if only you had chosen the POWER of NOW.

The Power is in Your Hands. Choose NOW. Decide to change your life. The choice is yours and yours alone. You can do it.

CHOOSE YOUR POWER NOW!