2008 has begun and if you are like me, you've made a few goals for yourself. So what goals have you set for yourself this year? A flat stomach? A tighter butt? Maybe you want to get stronger and finally make those biceps pop. Whatever goal you have set, I'm going to give you some tips that I use to make sure that you accomplish your fitness goals this year.

First Tip To Goal Setting: Reminders

The first tip is put your goal where you can see it. When I log off the net, sitting right there on my laptop for physical goals I see:

PHYSICAL GOALS 2008:

1. Be able to do 5 freestanding Hand Stand Pushups.

2. Be able to do backflips on demand.

3. Be able to walk 100 feet on my hands.

4. Do a 360 on my snowboard.

Doing something like this for yourself is as easy as downloading a favorite picture you like and find inspiring on the net and then adding your goals over top of it. If you have Photoshop you can do it right there. If you don't have any fancy software, you can put your goals onto your screen saver. That way, whenever you come back to your computer at work or at home after a break, there are your goals right in front of you reminding you what is really important to you this year.

Second Tip To Goal Setting: Replacing The Routines

The second thing you want to do is set up a bunch of regular and routine actions that will bring you closer to your goal if you do them on a daily basis.

For example, if getting leaner and losing some fat this year is a top priority then diet is going to be a big factor. Take a look at some of your habitual actions that you do night now that might be blocking your progress. Then replace them!

FOR EXAMPLE: If you wake up and usually have a bagel and a coffee, that's a great place to start. Take that morning ritual and replace it with a bowl of oatmeal and a protein shake with some Essential Fatty Acids.

Something as simple as this over the course of a couple of weeks will really make a difference on the scale.

Tip Three For Goal Setting: Dare To Dream

There is something to be said about falling asleep with your goals on your mind. I use it in all areas of my life on a continuous basis. When you go to sleep, or when you have a moment with nothing else to do, daydream like when you were a kid. The kind of daydreams you had where you totally got sucked in and everything felt so real.

When I first started lifting, I saw a picture of Arnold Schwarzenegger doing a side chest pose. It blew my mind. I knew that the secret to getting a well muscled chest like that was to lift heavy with proper form and give my body proper nutrition.

Every night before chest day I would think about my routine and doing one more rep than last time on the bench press. I would really get into it inside my head. So much so that my chest would twitch while I lay there falling asleep. I would dream about the workout and how I would look after all my hard work. I could see myself on the beach looking ripped and muscular and feeling confident in how I looked.

You can laugh, but that was very important to me at that time. Never be ashamed of why you want something. Just want it and go after it. Set your goals in stone.

Those little dreams by themselves didn't help me create the body I wanted but those thoughts fed my desire to train as hard as I could and to eat correctly. I knew what I wanted and I was willing to do what it took to achieve those same feelings I would get when I was falling asleep.

In my mind, I knew how good it would feel to achieve my goals and because of my "day dreaming" I was motivated. I could see and actually FEEL what it would be like to achieve my dreams.

Tip Four On Goal Setting: Get Your Tools

Once you have your goals written down, and you are replacing old habits with better habits and dreaming of success there is one more thing you need to do. Set up your tools. Make sure you know exactly what you need to do and get the tools to help you succeed.

If you need to eat better to lose fat, one of your tools will be well thought out food shopping lists and perhaps buying a scale. If you feel like you are one of those "skinny fat" people then you will want to know how to add resistance training into your lifestyle so that you have the right "bumps" in the right places.

Perhaps this year you simply want to feel better and have more energy while losing a few pounds. Then you will want to learn proper stretching techniques and how to combine weight training with cardio into your lifestyle without getting worn out by the end of the week.

Doing a little research and finding the tools you need will allow you to know exactly what you should be doing and when you should be doing it so that you don't get held back by confusion and indecision. This way you can apply all your energy to what's important. Making 2008 your best year ever!