Making New Year Resolutions

Christmas has passed, as much of the year is gone too. Tomorrow a celebration throughout the world will mark the passing of time. Some of us will get dressed up and go out with friends, while others will sit at home with a bottle of champagne between their legs watching the ball drop from their television.

How you choose to celebrate the passing of one year to the next is not as important as what you plan to do in the next year. Many of us make new year resolutions. We tell our friends, write them down, and half the time we forget them half way through the year.

You've heard them before:

1. Lose weight
2. Spend more time with family
3. Quit Smoking
4. Go to the Gym
5. Quit Drinking
6. Pay off your credit cards

These being the most popular for obvious reasons.

Yet, making a new year resolution is more than a statement, it's a goal. One, that shouldn't be taken lightly or made out of jest. If you have no intention of following through with it, then don't make the resolution. It's easy to say you're going to lose weight this year, but be more specific.

When you are specific about your new year resolutions then you are more likely to follow through on your goal. "This year I am going to quit smoking" vs "This year I am going to smoke only one pack of smokes a week."  or "I'm going to lose weight" vs "I'm going to shed ten pounds by June."

See how it works? Write it down, put it in a place where you see it every time you wake up and before you go to bed.

Don't just tell your friends about your resolution, set up a a support system to reaching your goal. Perhaps they have made a resolution too, be supportive of each other. Motivation is the number one thing people lack over time to full fill their new year resolutions. If you plan to quit drinking, be serious, find a local AAA group and join. The same goes with smoking and losing weight. When at all possible look beyond the support of friends and step into your community. Having encouragement and support is the key to full filling those new year resolutions.

So as you prepare to wave goodbye to the old year and enter a new year, look back....what was your resolution last year? How far did you go to meet that goal? What resolution will you make this year? What are you going to do in order to establish it?