Ever notice that New Year's Resolutions tend to lose steam somewhere around February 1st? If you find this is true in your own life, ask yourself, are these resolutions something you truly want? Or are they "shoulds"? Something you think you should be doing?

One of the best ways to design intentions or goals is to access your heart's desire. Ask yourself what do you want to accomplish? And then take a moment to really listen to what comes up for you. When we are internally prompted, rather than externally pushed, we tend to take meaningful action in our own lives.

Here are a few creative ways to jumpstart your planning process and to access your inner wisdom:

1. Try a MIND MAP.

Start with a blank piece of paper and draw a large circle in the center of the page. In the circle write your topic, project, dream or goal. Then draw lines around the circle. The lines will look like roads leading away from a city or the spokes of a bicycle. On these lines, write out whatever occurs to you with regard to your theme. Let your mind wander. Let the solutions float up from within. Give yourself permission to brainstorm. Don't judge whatever surfaces. You may find you'd like to add branches to the original lines. Go with it, these may become your action steps. Once you've completed this process, notice if there are any recurring themes. The information you gather from this process can now become the foundation for developing a plan of action in a linear fashion. Mind mapping is a technique Tony Buzan originated.

2. Make a WHEEL OF FORTUNE.

Our minds love to respond to symbols and images. Advertising is built on this premise. Take a large piece of paper (or poster board if you are feeling artistic). Draw a circle and divide it into four parts. Label each part with what you want to manifest this year. And then find images or words that support this intention. For example, if travel is a priority for you find images of beautiful places and put them on your wheel of fortune. Is earning more money a priority to you?Then find dollar signs and put them in your wheel. You may want to put pictures of people that look successful to you in this area. Let your imagination guide you as you create a visual road map for your desired outcomes. Once you've completed your wheel, put it somewhere where you can see it on a regular basis so you will be reminded of what your heart's desire is for this year. This is your personal treasure map have fun making it!

3.

What do you want to do, have, be, contribute, accomplish in a week, a month, six months, a year, five years, ten years and twenty years? Write out about ten items for each increment of time. The entire exercise should last a total of 20 or 30 minutes. Notice if there are any themes or activities that keep occurring. These things must be important to you; otherwise they wouldn't keep showing up. When designing a plan for you future use the topics you discover doing this exercise as a source of inspiration. You'll be living from what is truly important to you. This exercise is not a "to do list". This exercise is a way for you to bypass your rational mind and get to your inner wisdom and guidance.

4. Make a STORY BOARD.

Storyboarding is a planning strategy that is used to create consecutive steps for your dream or desired outcome. Write out what you want to achieve in a single sentence. What is the first thing you need to do to bring your dream to fruition? The second? The third? And so on. Like the name implies, storyboarding is creating a story on boards. For example, Martin Scorsese used this technique to move the plot of his movie "Taxi Driver" from beginning to end. You can get as elaborate as putting pieces of paper or post-its on a wall or you can use a piece of paper and allow yourself to see your idea progress from one step to the next. Again, look for themes or patterns that appear. Look for the path that will move your idea into reality.

These techniques are just a few of the ways to approach planning. Many more creative techniques exist. Sometimes just sitting and writing out a list in a linear fashion doesn't inspire action or excitement. Adding heartfelt desire to a goal can help you take the actions neccessary to translate your dreams into reality.
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Lea Brandenburg is a Personal and Business Coach who helps individuals and organizations create original strategies for success. Her areas of expertise are interpersonal and business communication,creativity and intuition. Interested in having a roadmap for success? Contact her.

To find out more about the services she offers, read other articles that will increase your personal and business success or to subscribe to her free newsletter, please visit: www.creatingstrategies.com.

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