How is your life now compared to a year ago? Have you reached your goals? Are you feeling happier, healthier, more energetic, more confident? Has it been your best year yet?

For many the answer will be “no”. Maybe you have reached your weight loss goal but you are lagging in your income goal. Maybe you can’t even REMEMBER what your goals were.

If you are not where you would like to be, NOW is the best time to do something about it. It is never too late to create the life you have always dreamt of.

Now grab a cup of coffee, sit back , relax and start writing where you want to be in 100 days. You might want to lose 1 stone of weight, increase your online income by 10%, read the novels that have been sitting on your shelf for years, visit a European city, become a non-smoker, make a new friend, join a book club or take dance lessons. If you have a long-term goal, break it down into smaller short-term goals. For example, if your long-term goal is writing a novel in 1 year, your goal for the next 100 days could be “writing the first three chapters of my novel”.

It’s important to record your goals so you must either write them down on paper or on your computer. Once you have written all your goals that you want to achieve within the next 100 days, pick 5 of them. If you work on too many goals simultaneously, you could lose focus and end up achieving none of them.

Your goals must be SMART , i.e. Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-based.

– Specific : “I want to exercise” is too vague. It must be more concrete, such as “I want to walk for 30 minutes six days a week”.

– Measurable : “I want to lose weight” is not a measurable goal. Decide how much weight you want to lose, e.g. “I want to lose 15 pounds in 100 days”.

– Achievable : If you have just started learning how to play tennis, “Winning Wimbledon Tennis Tournament next year” is not a realistic goal.

– Relevant : When creating your own goals, make sure they are truly relevant to you / your career / your family.

– Time-based : Goals must be set within a time-frame, e.g. “I want to buy a house within the next 6 months”.

Remember to frame your goals in the positive. For example, “I don’t want to spend all my salary” could be rephrased as “I want to save 5% of my income every month”.

Once you have written down your SMART goals as positive statements, make an action plan and start working towards your goals. You must take constant action to keep the momentum going. If progress is interrupted, pick up where you left off and continue moving forward.

Check your progress every week and celebrate your victories. Losing 1 pound per week may not seem like a big achievement to you but it means you will have lost 1 stone after 100 days!

Setting and achieving goals is easier if you are working with a life coach who helps you, encourages you, gently pushes you and holds you accountable for what you say you are going to do. (If you are unable to afford the fees of a Life Coach, visit http://www.CoachMeFree.com to receive 6 or more sessions of free coaching).

Don’t stop after 100 days. Reward yourself for your achievements but don’t stop. Set new short-term goals and continue working on your long-term goals. Goal setting is a life-long process. Celebrate each milestone as you travel the road to success and enjoy the journey!

Author Bio: Ebru Ulufer is a personal development coach who specialises in helping her clients find their true calling (http://www.LifeCoachingZone.com). She is also the founder of CoachMeFree, a directory of coaches offering 6 or more sessions of free coaching (http://www.CoachMeFree.com).

Category: Self Help
Keywords: free,coaching,career,change,transition,life,coach,coaches,trainee,pro-bono,work