I bet many of you are thinking ‘Christmas, New Year…where’s that suddenly gone?’ Have you hit 2017 running, with a few New Year resolutions to spur you on? Or have you quickly settled into the same old routine, following the path of least resistance?

To my mind, there’s never a bad time of the year to make a resolution or set a few goals to improve areas of your life – we should always be mindful of the need to sharpen our saws and adjust our behaviour accordingly – but I still couldn’t resist a self-audit to start the year off with a bang, particularly as I enter 2017 knowing my big 5-0 is approaching (by that I mean my birthday, and also my prediction of the score when my beloved AFC Bournemouth meet our local rivals Southampton on April 1st!).

50? Where’s that suddenly come from? It doesn’t seem long since I was dying for my 18th birthday to happen and my only resolution then was to enjoy my first ‘legal’ pint (or three). With a bit of luck, I might have another 50 years ahead of me BUT it focused my mind that whatever I resolve to do, time is running out and it’s up to me to make it happen.

We are the drivers of our life, not the passengers. It’s up to us to plan our journey, decide the destinations we want to visit and employ the skills and discipline required to get us there.

One of my 2017 resolutions is to reconnect with my local church. I have always loved meeting the people there, listening to some very authentic speakers and learning some valuable life lessons from the bible. This Sunday, the theme of the sermon was about having the faith and discipline to avoid the ‘leaks’ in our life. The vicar was talking about only being able to build a leak-free boat or house through careful planning and by employing the skills of an architect, engineer, builder and plumber who could work alongside you.

This made me wonder why I had allowed attending church to leak from my life. Maybe because it was easier for me not to go, just like it’s easier not to get up early in the morning to go training, easier not to start that diet, easier not to have that tricky conversation with your boss, teacher, partner, or easier not to write down and pursue your goals for the year ahead.

Where are your leaks? Are you just letting life happen, taking the easy route – the path of least resistance? The choice is down to you.

But I would urge you to stop the leaks and join me in taking the leap of faith towards building an improved life for yourself this year and for the rest of your life.

I want to support you in becoming the architect and builder of your life, to take control of building it just the way you want it, to make you feel the most fulfilled and happiest you can possibly be.

That’s why I have devised the Improve Your Life Now! programme especially for you, which is full of inspiring, educational tools starting with 14 days of personalised free video coaching, a free workbook and free goals chart, all geared towards supporting you to create the life you deserve.

To take the leap of faith, simply visit www.paulstalker.com and start planning your journey.

Love the day.

From Paul ‘Stalkie’ Stalker

The Mindset Man.