As 2009 dawns and the refrains of Auld Lang Syne fade, have you made the inevitable list of New Year resolutions? More importantly, have you resolved to keep them?

According to Northwich mum and businesswoman, Tracey Wall, the New Year is a fantastic time to reassess each aspect of your life and identify which areas require improvement and change. “Resolutions can be achieved,” affirms Tracey. “To be successful at any change, you need to really want it. It takes careful planning and real motivation to succeed at any goal.”

Tracey is a personal coach and her business, Empowering Mums, encourages mothers to become the women they strive to be. Tracey’s aim is to help mothers become confident, balanced and happy women, and to live the life they really want.

“Mums do an amazing job,” says Tracey, “they juggle so many different roles and responsibilities, including organising family, home, childcare, careers and relationships. When they are caught up in the throws of everyday life, many mums don’t manage, or simply forget, to fit in essential ‘me time’ and the chance to pursue life-long ambitions.”

Everyone, not just women and mothers, need to ensure they achieve and enjoy life satisfaction. This is only done when all aspects of life are balanced.

Setting New Year resolutions is a great way to identify areas within life that are in need of improvement. Typical resolutions include:

- Do more things for me

- Spend more time with my family

- Work harder at my relationship

- Improve my health and fitness

- Discover work/life balance

How do we achieve these goals? Often many of us give up before the last bang of the New Year fireworks. Tracey believes this is because many people focus on what they should do rather than on what they really want do. Worse still, people think about what they should stop doing, rather than thinking more positively about what they would like to achieve. There is also a tendency to concentrate on the what and not consider how to achieve their aspirations.

In order to bring about these improvements, the initial and most important work is to assess where your life is now and where you really want it to be within a specific timeframe. This then provides you with a ‘gap’. You need to break the gap down into bite-size, achievable actions. This will support and encourage you to realise your ultimate goal and true ambitions.

Most barriers to success and happiness include fears and illusions or old, outdated belief systems. These obstacles cost you time, energy and perhaps even money. Life is time. Tracey is enthusiastic and passionate about changing your life for the better, “It’s all about boosting people’s confidence and self-esteem, and supporting them to make their own positive decisions. By providing encouragement and support, people will quickly achieve confidence, balance and joy. Make 2009 a great year and live with intention.”

Northwich-based Empowering Mums provides coaching to support people to achieve their goals and ambitions, improving all aspects of life to feel fulfilled, balanced, confident and in control.