How to Keep Your New Years Resolutions

It is that time of year again that many of us Americans sit down and begin to ponder what we want to accomplish over the next year. For some of us it will be finishing school, loosing weight, becoming a better parent. The list is almost endless. As I sit and ponder the New Years resolutions that I kept and did not keep this last year, I realized that the ones that I kept had a few common denominators. Those factors are:

1) The ones that I kept were written down. I had something tangible to look at all through the year when I was tempted to fudge the resolution, or rewrite it to my liking in my own head.

2) The ones that I kept were shared with others. If it was regarding my home life, it shared it with my family, if it was in regards to my work life, I shared it with my co-workers and so on. It will not do any good to share a work related goal with your family unless you work from home. You need the support of a good group of people around you to make sure you hold to your goal.

3) The ones I kept were realistic. If I set a goal to graduate with my PhD. this year, and I have just finished my bachelors degree, it will not happen. Instead, set a goal of researching and choosing a school to start your PhD. at. This would be much more attainable and realistic.

4) I was able to keep many resolutions because I did not set to many resolutions. In today's society we go and go and go and are always thrust into new situations and new places. Of course we want to change so many things about us so that we fit in the best. The problem is, you can only do so many things in the course of a year.

When you sit down and figure out your resolutions this year, I would suggest setting one resolution in three key areas. Your family life, your work life, and your spiritual life. If you are not used to writing a resolution for the new year, just keep it simple, and set a timeframe for reaching each goal. If you set three goals this year, spend four months of the year focusing on each one. By the end of the year you will have accomplished them all.