“What am I doing? And where am I going?” I love January. It’s all about starting over. It’s about getting a fresh start. It’s also a great time to look at your life and decide what you’d like to change. These are called New Year’s resolutions and they can be very helpful to create more of the life you desire, and help you find some answers to the nagging questions of what are you doing and where are you going. 

I’ll be the first to admit it’s not the easiest thing in the world to keep your New Year’s resolutions, but I hope this list I’ve put together will help all of us as we attempt to remain committed to these New Year’s promises.

1. Keep it simple. Make sure you set realistic and attainable goals. If you don’t, you’ll be easily discouraged when you discover you can’t achieve them. If you have a really big goal you’d like to achieve, break it up into smaller, more managable mini-goals. That way you can track your progress and more clearly see the results. 

2. Don’t make too many resolutions. It’s hard enough to follow through on one, why overwhelm yourself with four or five? Pick the one you feel is the most important and focus on that.

3. Write it down. When we write down our New Year’s resolutions it forces us to be more clear with what we’re hoping to accomplish. With as much detail, write down your goals. Be as specific as possible about what it’s going to take, as well as what the results will look like. 

4. Tell other people. Not only will telling people help hold you more accountable to following through, you will find people who will encourage you when need it. Consider finding someone who shares your same resolution. 

5. Track your progress. Keep track of each small success you make along the way toward your larger goal. This will help keep you motivated. Remember, changing any behavior can be a slow, but powerful process.

6. Reward yourself. When you reach you goal, or accomplish something you set out to achieve, make sure you congratulate yourself in some special way. This promise of reward will help you to keep moving forward when things get difficult along the way. 

7. Don’t give up. Decide how you’re going to deal with the temptation when it comes up. Maybe it’s calling a friend. Make a list of the benefits of sticking with your plan, and the disadvantages of giving up. Take it one day at a time. Do the best you can. If you feel like you have failed, get back up and start again. You haven’t failed, unless you give up.

New Year’s Resolutions can get a bad rap because many people anticipate their giving up on their goals before they even start. It’s up to you to decide how committed you want to be. I encourage you to stay focused on at least one of your goals. You’ll be amazed at how good you feel when you start seeing changes in your life. 

Next week I’m going to start an exciting new blog series. It’s going to be one of the most popular ever. Perhaps the most asked questions I get on my radio show are about the opposite sex and what they don’t understand about each other. I need your help. I’m going to write about what guys and girls don’t understand about each other. Please send me a comment with your thoughts. It’ll be a great help to me as I write.