The week between Christmas and New Year’s is the perfect time to look back at the previous year and reflect on everything you have achieved, those things you might have fallen short on, and the areas you’ve improved the most. Don’t beat yourself up on things you might not have done, but focus most of your time on the accomplishments and the areas you’ve improved. More than likely, you achieved more than you think you did. At the same time, that creeping voice will keep arising letting you know about those things you fell short on, and how you could have done better. While I just said to focus on the good things, I don’t want you to completely ignore that little voice telling you that you could have done better. I want you to use that reminder to get excited. Get motivated. Get angry if you will, just as long as you focus the anger from not achieving everything into productive energy to attack your goals now!

We learn to control our emotions when training in combatives or martial arts. You don’t want to lose control where you are not thinking. However, a controlled anger can help you defeat an attacker and then get to safety. I want people to be mad that someone attacked them, and then to attack back. I want people to use the anger and adrenaline to maximize the power of strikes and kicks to inflict pain on the attacker and allow them to escape to safety.

Right now, do the same with your goals. Use both the pride and good feelings you get when you reflect on your accomplishments and the anger you feel when you know you could have done better in some areas to motivate yourself to attack your goals with gusto. Start right now! If you are doing this at the beginning of a year, great. Make your year’s goals that reflect on your longer term goals, break them down into the smaller chunks and get started right away. And do you know the best time to set goals other than the beginning of the year? Right now! If you don’t have goals written down, start right now and get it done. I watched a marathon of Star Trek The Next Generation on Christmas Eve after everyone else went to bed, so I’m ready to Make It So.

Use whatever you need to get the motivation to attack your goals just as you would someone that was trying to hurt you or your loved ones. Because in reality, complacency and mediocrity will hurt you more than an attacker that never materializes. (Because you have paid attention to awareness and avoidance strategies) The first step is to think about what you want, and then write it down and determine what you must to to achieve the things you desire. Then take action and attack your goals with everything you have, just as if your life depended upon it. Because it does!