A New Years Message by Sponsored Athlete James Llewellin

**Mesomorph** · 01-01-2008 03:29 PM

Firstly I would like to take the chance to wish each and every one of you a very happy New Year and hope that all your dreams, goals and aspirations come true in the 12 months ahead.

When I looked back over the past year the first thing that I noticed is how quickly the last 12 months has passed by; infact so quickly it feels like only yesterday we were celebrating the beginning of 2007!!

It’s definitely true, the older you get the faster time goes by and I’m only 34!

New Year brings new resolutions to many. Many will make them but only a handful will stick to them and achieve them. In fact the first thing my brother said last night was ‘My resolution is not to have any, that way I don’t have to feel guilty when I break them!’

A realistic but also a defeatist attitude and one that many of us unfortunately share.

The mistake many make is to set an unrealistic goal or target; one that is doomed to fail before it has even been started.

My past approach has always been not to have a resolution but to have many small goals and targets throughout the year; it’s the only way that I can move forward, not get demoralised and get to the end of the year with a great feeling of pride and accomplishment.

As athletes our goals may seem more pertinent as they can be quantified and targets set. It may be improving your deadlift by 50kgs, your bench by 20kg and your squat by 40kgs. It maybe losing bodyfat, increasing the size of your arms by 1 inch or your chest by 2.

Whatever the goals always make sure they are achievable, there is nothing more demoralising than setting unrealistic goals and falling well short, this is a sure fire way to question what you do and why you do it.

Once you have set a goal it is then important to lay out a detailed plan of how you will get there. If realistic targets are set but there is no detailed way of getting there, again you are doomed to fail and your feeling of self worth is diminished.

Remember….Fail to plan, plan to fail!

Write down your goal and write down your route for getting there and make sure it’s realistic. The goal you set may be easily achievable but if the route there is compromised and corners are cut, yet again failure is inevitable.

For me my goal this year is to win the British championships and I don’t just mean winning my class, I mean winning the overall!

This year’s resolution or goal is far removed from previous years, yet at the same time previous years have led to the one I make this year; it has been a work in progress and all this year is, is a culmination of 4 years hard work and meticulous preparation and planning.

So my goal may seem massive but it has already been broken down over 4 years with many smaller goals and targets achieved along the way.

Determination is key, as well as consistency. For me it has been my solid, unrelenting consistency that has got me where I am today. Everything I have done has had a purpose and has been a small piece of the larger plan.

Remember too that you can only control your actions and not those who are around you. Competition brings out the best in me; for the winners are those that have made the most of their time and made sacrifices to get them to where they are. Yes genetics play a huge part in what I do but so does bloody hard graft.

So my message to you all is to make a commitment to you and your body, visualise how you want to look then set about constructing a plan to get you there.

Like me, it may not just be one year’s work but a culmination of years of planning and goal setting. Take one step at a time and feel good about each step you make; to take a small step forward is better than a giant leap then 2 steps back. Keep chipping away day in day out and never lose sight of what you want and where you want to be.

Not everyone is able to be the best, including me, but as long as you are the best you can be then you should walk tall with your head held high in the knowledge that you have done something positive. And when you look back this time next year you are able to say, ‘You know what, last year was a good year but the next one’s going to be even better!!!’

Believe and Achieve.

James Llewellin