Last weekend I had the pleasure of joining the Renew Retreat team on a one-day well-being event in the stunning setting of the Coral Beach and Tennis Club. The purpose of the day: to allow participants time to pause, and set themselves up for a healthy, balanced and happy year ahead.

I can hardly believe we’re already barrelling towards the end of January. My Christmas tree is still up! I too was grateful for dedicated time earmarked for making some goals for 2015, before it’s over.

One thing I shared with the group, however, was a caution about letting our New Year’s resolutions and the like unintentionally undermine us. When we think about what we’d like for ourselves, we tend to focus on ‘the gaps’, the things we’d like to change. We can look right past all the good we’re doing and just see what we think we need to fix, or be better at. Telling ourselves, “I’ll be happier when I ... have done this, or have that, or am thinner/richer/smarter (fill in your blank)”.

To address our ‘lacks’ we tend to set big goals which can, in themselves, feel overwhelming if not well strategised, and ultimately end up as another excuse for self-punishment if we later don’t achieve them as planned.

Compounded, this can add up to feeling ‘less than’ and not enough, which with accompanying self-criticism erodes our joy, confidence and self-pride.

Self-acceptance is crucial to a happy life. So how can we best support ourselves while still striving to make positive changes?

How about, before looking at the big things we want to achieve, we create a foundation of really nourishing ourselves on a daily basis, developing a mindset geared towards self-care, gentle course correction and positive reinforcement? Wouldn’t this better equip us for then going after those big achievements, and indeed dealing with life’s curve balls we don’t expect?

One suggestion for doing this is setting simple intentions encapsulating the desired objectives at the heart of goals we might set. Deepak Chopra recommends four: “I desire ... a restful, alert mind ... a loving, compassionate heart ... a joyful, energetic body ... lightness of being.”

Find words that speak most to you of what you want for these different aspects of yourself. Then use our objectives as a form of guide, to gently lead us in the direction of our highest selves, without angst and self-judgment.

How will starting our day with our objectives in mind influence the choices we make? In moments of dilemma or decision, recalling these ultimate aims can steer us towards a path which serves us, away from one that doesn’t — despite how tempting (I’m thinking chocolate cake here). Reviewing at the end of each day we can witness and celebrate how these intentions, over time, become our reality.

It’s never too late to set some supportive intentions to make the most of 2015 ... or enjoy a Christmas tree!

Julia Pitt is a trained success coach and certified NLP practitioner on the team at Benedict Associates. For further information contact Julia on 705-7488, www.juliapittcoaching.com.