New Year Resolution Advice

It's January 1st and time to start with those resolutions. I make ten every year and usually succeed on most or all of them. Although we're a few hours into the new year already, it's not too late to start. I'm here to help.

• Make them something you can do, not something you'll be. "I'll be nicer", "I'll be in better shape", etc. Those sound good, but how do you know you've made it? Being nice, for example, is in the eye of the beholder. Also, you have to keep it up all year. If you are great for 11 months and then a jerk in December, I think you failed.
• Try to have them be one-and-dones. Maybe to read a particular book. Then after you've done it, cross it off the list - you're a success. Don't "lose weight". Pick a weight you want to get to at least at some point during the year. Even if its only once and then you gain the weight back that's ok. Not great, but ok.
• Aim low. Make it stuff you are pretty sure you can achieve. And if you can do it by the first part of the year - even better. If you go way passed your goal, so much the better. If you can do maybe five pushups now make it "I'll do 10 push ups."
• Have several. Then if you fail on something you can still have a pretty good win-loss percentage overall. Ten is a good number. If you can achieve 7 out of 10, good job. If you don't, you're not trying or you set your goals too high (see hint above).
• You can have fun ones in there. They don't have to all be painful. You've never seen E.T. and always felt you should. You have no idea what "Phone home" is talking about. This is your year. You can knock that one out in an evening.
• If things get tough, I think its ok to reevaluate after a few months go by. You want to run 5 miles a week but then you get injured. Scale a goal down or select a completely different goal.
• It doesn't have to last all year. It's January 1st, so that is a convenient day to start, but maybe your goals are just for the month of January. A lot of goals that are meant for the whole year only last about a month before people quit anyway. 
• Write them down. But also memorize them. That way you can have them in the back of your mind all the time. Don't obsess, but know they're there.

Those are my thoughts. Good luck. You can do it.

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