I went shopping on Saturday for the last of the Christmas presents I had to get.  I went to a garden centre, but it does so much more than plants, they even have Santa and 4 of his reindeers.

It was great to see the children enjoying all the Christmas decorations and the reindeers, while the queue for Santa was long parents knew their children would get to meet him because they had booked online.

I was amazed how friendly people were in comparison to last year, mum and I stopped for a coffee and a bite to eat, the tables were packed, yet people already sitting were saying they were just going, so those waiting knew they would have a table soon, conversations were started as we wandered around the store and even in the toilets, strangers spoke to each other.

What has made the difference this year could it be everyone is feed up with the constant worry about jobs and finance?

As we approach the start of 2012 I want you to take time to review where you are at the moment, and how things have changed during the year.

Maybe things haven’t gone as well as you had hoped, or they have worked out better than you imagined.

To start the New Year in a positive frame of mind don’t wait until the New Year before deciding what changes you want for 2012 do it now!  Be clear in your mind what is going to be different for you.

I think this quote by Steve Siebold, author of 177 Mental Toughness Secrets of the World Class, is so appropriate at this present moment, with Europe and the Middle East going through radical changes, with money being the cause of so many problems for so many people.

“Use the current economic crisis to test your mental toughness. While the average person allows circumstances to dictate his mindset, the great ones operate in a world of psychological self containment filled with thoughts of love, abundance and gratitude. Both groups have the same freedom to choose what they think, but the masses believe they are victims of circumstance. Refuse to let fear infect your consciousness by only allowing forward thinking, problem solving thoughts to occupy your mind. Build this habit when times are tough and your future success is guaranteed.”

Set a plan of action in place. You don’t need to know how it is going to happen, list the actions you want to take.

Maybe you want to improve your finances, what do you need to improve them?

• A budget?
• Help in managing your finances more successfully?
• Have more income?
• More knowledge about finance?
• Change your behaviour with money?
• Knowing what is stopping you from having money.

Our mindset often prevents us from succeeding in having a great relationship with money.  Often we complain we never have enough money, the question is if you had more money what would be different?

Letting go of fear is an essential part of taking action, what do you need to learn and incorporate into your life to create the changes?

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