New Year's Resolutions

According to Wikipedia.org "A New Years Resolution is generally a goal someone sets out to accomplish in the coming year."


I honestly believe the idea is a good one, but honestly, I can't think of one that I really kept. (Most fizzle out a month or so after being made.) So, why do we do it? The promise of hope and new things perhaps? The impetus to change something about ourselves that's less than desirable?


Many of us try to "get fit" or "quit smoking" or "make more time to spend with friends and family" or "get out of debt." All are admirable but kind of vague. The key is making small achievable goals. This way we make some progress which encourages us to keep going.


I'm going to directly quote from: http://www.mygoals.com/about/NewYearsTips.html because I felt it really did a good job saying what I wanted to. (I don't usually refer to other articles, but it would have been too hard to paraphrase.)



There is a right way and a wrong way to make a New Year's resolution. Here are a few expert tips to see that your resolution actually makes a difference:


1. Create a Plan
Setting a goal without formulating a plan is merely wishful thinking. In order for your resolution to have resolve, (as the word "resolution" implies), it must translate into clear steps that can be put into action. A good plan will tell you A) What to do next and B) What are all of the steps required to complete the goal.


2. Create Your Plan IMMEDIATELY
If you're like most people, then you'll have a limited window of opportunity during the first few days of January to harness your motivation. After that, most people forget their resolutions completely.
It is imperative that you begin creating your plan immediately.


3. Write Down Your Resolution and Plan
myGoals.com exists to help you formulate a plan, which we then help you stick to. But even if you don't use myGoals.com, commit your resolution and plan to writing someplace, such as a notebook or journal.


4. Think "Year Round," Not Just New Year's
Nothing big gets accomplished in one day. Resolutions are set in one day, but accomplished with a hundred tiny steps that happen throughout the year. New Year's resolutions should be nothing more than a starting point. You must develop a ritual or habit for revisiting your plan. myGoals.com helps you stick to your plan by providing email reminders that arrive when it's time to work on a given task.


And finally... 


5. Remain Flexible
Expect that your plan can and will change. Life has a funny way of throwing unexpected things at us, and flexibility is required to complete anything but the simplest goal. Sometimes the goal itself will even change. Most of all, recognize partial successes at every step along the way. Just as a resolution isn't accomplished the day it's stated, neither is it accomplished the day you reach your goal. Rather, it's accomplished in many small increments along the way. Acknowledge these incremental successes as they come.