It's the start of 2015. Most of us have probably set a new year's resolution whether in conrete, stone, thought or conversation. We have all thrown around ideas, thoughts, goals, desires and wants for 2015, which is great! How determined are you? Are your ideas or goals specific, measureable, achievable/realistic, time-bound and do they allow you to be rewarded immediately or along the way?

Know where you are currently and accept it regardless of whether it's where you want to be, as this will one, help you to be realistic and two, it will ground you. It will also help you to move forward and take a journey toward achieving a change, acquiring new skills, an improvement or just reaching toward the end of your goal step by step.

I always had a in 3 hours, 3 months, 3 years saying when I was goal-setting. I was always committed to achieving whatever goal I truly believed in and wanted to accomplish, time was important, but if I wanted something bad enough I wouldn't get too caught up on trying to achieve it in an unrealistic time-frame. My goals were planned, I worked hard, I stuck to them and I rewarded myself along the way (rewards were not always gifts of a monetary value, sometimes they were just a treat like going to a new location, enjoying a favourite food, marking my calendar with a big tick, going for a walk, watching a movie/tv etc...). There are always going to be inevitable factors, bumps, hurdles, people, things and challenges along the way that will holt you temporarily, not set you back. The way you think about setting and achieving goals has to be very positive and this in itself is a challenge, especially if you are not aware or do not know how to keep the negative out and overcome thoughts with positivity and productivity.

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Before we begin this article, let's define the two keywords Friend and Impress:

Definitions:

Friend - 

1. A person whom one knows, likes, and trusts.
2. A person known well to another and regarded with liking, affection, and loyalty; an intimate.
3. A person whom one knows; an acquaintance.
4. A person with whom one is allied in a struggle or cause; a comrade.
5. One who supports, sympathizes with, or patronizes a group, cause, or movement.

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Over the days, months and years that we have been dancing Rock n Roll one common statement we receive is "I don't fit in because they are all couples or they are already friends", this usually leads to the question how do I fit in and a discussion whereby the questioner opens up about how they feel lonely, sometimes blaming others for not approaching or being approachable and how the individual feels as though they don't know what to say or don't have the social skills to support fitting in because much deeper they don't have the confidence or esteem in one's self.

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