But ask yourself whether your current reality is really that easy. Can you honestly say that all aspects of your life are good enough and you are happy to leave them as they are? Especially now you have a vision of how great your life could be? Yes, it takes effort and determination and a large measure of confidence and courage to push through this depressed state – but as the advert says, "You're worth it!"

Remember, you have created the life you now live and so you can change it. Take 100% responsibility for your life. If it isn't exactly how you would like it then take steps to change it – because if you don't nobody else is going to! We have all blamed people or circumstances outside ourselves for our predicament – parents, bosses, friends, family, government, weather or lack of money – anything to shift the blame from ourselves.

The reality, however, is that you took all the decisions that have led you to where you are now. This is good because it means that if you choose to make different, more empowering decisions from now on, you can change your life. If you aren't getting the results you want don't blame, instead ask yourself,
"Why?"
"How did I create that outcome?"
"What did I do or not do that led to that result and what could I do differently next time to produce a different result?"

Jack Canfield, in his book (co –written with Janet Switzer) "The Success Principles: how to get from where you are to where you want to be" shares a formula given to him by Dr. Robert Resnick. The formula is

E+R=O
Or
Event + Response = Outcome
Basically, your response to events in your life gives you the outcome that you experience. So if you don't like your outcomes (life) then change your responses to events in your life! That can be a bit tough to accept, so here are some ideas that may help.

Have your vision for your ideal life written out and displayed in a place where you will see it and be able to read it often. Write it on a card and carry it with you so you can read it throughout the day.

When an issue or event arises in your day, before you react as usual, stop and ask yourself what actions you could take in this circumstance that will support you in the achievement of your goals, and which actions will take you further from the achievement of your goals. Ask yourself what you really want as an outcome. Your daily decisions either support you in the creation of your new life or they don't. You choose which action to take in every situation – you are in charge!

It helps to get family and friends on board. Sometimes they are not as supportive as we would like of our efforts to create a new life. There are a number of reasons for this. The changes you are making may leave them feeling threatened. You are changing and they may worry that you will leave them behind and not have time for them when you are successful. They don't want to lose you so they try to keep you as you are. Or they may simply be jealous of your success because it reminds them that they are not achieving their dreams. Talk to them, explain that you would value their help and support. Maybe you could get them to join you in your journey by setting their own goals so you can help and support each other.

Keep looking for your passions. Notice the little things in your day that give you pleasure. If you notice these things you can arrange to get more of them into your life. Keep re-reading your goals and checking that they are still relevant. Your priorities may change as you change. That's fine – just do the necessary. Delete goals or add more to reflect your current dreams and desires. Keep your vision of your new life current and exciting. Ideally you want your vision to make you tingle with excitement and anticipation.

Do something you enjoy every day. It doesn't have to be big, it just has to make you happy. You might want to take a few minutes to relax with a cuppa when you get in from work , before getting on with the dinner. It may be having a moment of quiet in the morning to hear the birds, before getting everyone's breakfast. Also do something, however small, towards one of your goals every day. When the going gets tough, and sometimes it feels that way, instead of giving up ask yourself,
"How badly do I want what I want?"
Read your vision and recommit to your creation.
Instead of saying "I can't" which closes your mind down, ask "How can I ?" which opens the mind up to new possibilities.

Still finding motivation hard to come by? Keep a Daily Success Log – a book where you note at least five things each day that went well. It is very powerful as it enhances your self esteem and builds your self confidence. Have you ever noticed how we tend to remember all the negative things and everything that goes wrong and all the things that don't work out as we planned? But we gloss over or forget all the things that went well and the times when we were successful. By recalling and writing down all of your successes, both big and small, each day you are logging them into your long term memory. On the days when you need a boost you can re-read your entries and remind yourself that your life is actually a lot better than you think. It's great because it keeps you focused on all your successes.

Another exercise you could try is the Mirror Exercise. It works on the principle that we all need acknowledgement and the acknowledgement we give ourselves is the most important. You will feel silly and I would suggest that you do this behind closed doors or when nobody else is around! But have a go and see what you think. Basically you stand in front of a mirror, look yourself in the eyes and tell yourself how great you are and appreciate all your achievements for the day. You have to say it out loud! This is quite a challenging exercise, mainly because self congratulation is not a very British thing to do. If it helps to build your confidence in your ability to achieve results and change your life it is certainly worth a try.

All these activities help to develop an "Attitude of Gratitude". I have said before that the Law of Attraction states that you get more of whatever you focus on. So if you focus on how much you have achieved, how good that makes you feel and how grateful you are for all the great things in your life, you will attract even more to be grateful for. Conversely, if you are down and depressed and focus on how bad it is and how it just isn't working – guess what – you will attract more of that instead. You know this to be true because you have experienced it so many times in your life, so make the effort to stay upbeat and positive, take 100% responsibility for your life and the results you create. Don't beat yourself up when things go wrong – learn from it and move on.

It's your life, how great do you want it to be?

Happy creating!

Sue Courtney is a Personal Success Coach and Image Consultant. She can be contacted by email at sue@successandimagecoach.co.uk