The start of a new year is a great time to take an honest look at who we’ve become over the past year. So let us bravely ask, ‘Mirror, mirror on the wall, have I become the fairest one of all?’ Are you happy with what you see? Are you everything you’d hoped to be by the end of 2010?

How do you feel? If the mirror could actually speak, it might tell us all to pause and revamp. So if you are ready to experience your best year ever, listen up!

1 Get spiritually connected
Becoming spiritually connected offers us a moment to pause and listen for that powerful and yet faint voice of wisdom inside of us. Life these days is more frenetic than ever before, and it is easy to become so absorbed with what is happening outside that we forget to take time to listen to ourselves. Tuning into your spirit will centre you, provide you with a peace that surpasses all understanding, and speak mindblowing truths.

2 Ditch the New Year’s resolutions
Instead of writing a New Year’s resolution list with a gazillion things to accomplish, consider asking this question: ‘If I had only three things I could accomplish this year, what would they be?’ Place your desired outcomes on the mirror of your bathroom or in the dashboard of your car, so that it is in your face every single day. Visual reminders connect with your subconscious, causing the execution to become easier.

3 Create a power statement
Pen a power statement that affirms the man or woman you actually want to be. A power statement, as I choose to call it, is just like affirmation or a mantra, but the name alone evokes feelings of empowerment and strength. So say it, think it, become it!

4 Offer forgiveness
Why forgiveness? Because it sets us free of negative energy. According to Connie Domino in The Law of Forgiveness, ‘Unforgiveness hinders the laws of attraction and delays the manifestation of our desires.’ With only 365 days in 2011, may I suggest that we start the forgiveness process immediately.

5 Choose your words very carefully
When we fail to control our internal thoughts and external speech, we often end up living a life far less than we had hoped for. Scientists have discovered that when we think something, chemicals are released in our brains in anticipation of making that thought a reality. So if you think self-defeating thoughts, you will become just that… defeated! In one of the world’s best known and oldest books, it is written: ‘As a man thinketh in his heart so is he, and as a man speaketh so shall it be.’ Could your life be a reflection of your speech?

6 Become addicted
Addicted to happiness, that is! We all choose our states of mind, so why not choose happiness? Happiness is infectious, attractive, and it just feels better. People usually tend to avoid those who aren’t as fun to be around. Misery loves company, but choosing happiness makes us rich in spirit. Remember, that which we focus on, we tend to get more of.

7 Imitate success
The keys to success have never changed, and the doors are still wide open. The laws of success are as old as the universe, so stop trying to re-invent the wheel. Borrow somebody else’s ‘wheel of success,’ and then imitate and duplicate it, until you reach your goals.

8 Listen to your body
What is your body trying to tell you? According to Jennifer Louden in The Life Organiser, ‘The body does not lie, but we sure can get in the way of hearing its truth.’ What is your body trying to communicate to you? If you refuse to listen to it, then rest assured it will get your attention.

9 Choose positive relationships
In the song ‘Apple Tree’ by Erykah Badu, the recording artist sings of how her grandmother told her to pick her friends like she picks her fruit. Healthy relationships serve as a positive refuge, but when they fail
to do so, perhaps we need to consider pruning our trees.

10 Fall in love with yourself again
Self-love places a value on ourselves and causes others do the same. When we value ourselves, we declare to the universe ‘I love me.’ Know your worth and demand that from others.

And three to avoid…

1. Avoid giving up on your dreams – but as you wait for them to manifest, make sure that you never stop preparing. A dream may be deferred, but never denied.

2. Avoid mistreating others or forgetting the ones that matter most in your hustle to reach your destination.

3. Avoid hoarding your resources or withholding your talents. Instead, give freely of all that you have and watch how it returns to you. Anthony Robbins says, ‘Where energy goes, energy flows.’

Kecia Braggs, MA, CEG is the executive director of JeMeUno International Inc. She runs regular life empowerment workshops and private consultations, and can be contacted on +973 17 822 500. More info, visit www.jemeuno.com