New Year's Resolutions Can Be Easy and Fun

The millions of New Years resolutions made each year seem to outnumber those broken by only a small fraction. It is quite common for folks to give upaltogether. They have never had success, and therefore consider it a wasteof time and effort. "My only New Years resolution", they've been heard to say, "is to make no resolutions". There's good news for those who've lost their resolution resolve. New Years resolutions can be attainable, easy, and fun. Resolutions, for too long and for no good reason, have become a self fulfilling prophecy of failure, and it's time to begin making and keeping positive News Years resolutions. It is most effective to break the process into two phases.

In phase one, begin by ignoring the elephant in the room. The resolutions you've made and broken for ten years in a row are not going to be kept this year, so don't make them. Take charge of your New Years resolutions; they belong to you alone. There's no better way to set yourself up for failure than to continue making resolutions that reek of past promises broken. Instead, make totally new resolutions; things you've never tried before. Try something fun that you've always wanted to do. Resolve to take a class in local history or creative writing at a community college. Resolve to visit a beach you've never seen, or a lighthouse, or covered bridge. Resolve to go on a canoe trip, a camping trip, or white water rafting. Try cross country skiing. Resolve to add one friend to your Facebook account, or to write a letter to an old friend with whom you've lost touch. There's a pattern here. Each of these things is a one time event that you can easily finish, and each is something new that has the potential to make your life better. Make your list as long or as short as you want, then choose a low percentage to actually accomplish. The last resolution on your list should be: "I resolve to accomplish 25% of the items on this list."

Some purists may object that resolutions should be important, and life changing. Several of the activities above could very well be life-changing, and taken together may positively impact your life far beyond expectations, but the purists have a well taken point. They are welcome to join phase two of creating resolutions that are easy and fun; resolutions that will change your life if you let them. Phase one activities all had the resolver as the recipient. Phase two involves a bit of sacrifice, with not as much immediate return. Make a second list of resolutions. This time, involve someone else as the recipient. Resolve to donate canned goods to a food bank. Resolve to write a letter to a serviceman or woman. Visit a shut-in or a prisoner. Shovel snow or rake leaves for your neighbor. Make a special donation to a minister, missionary, or needy family. At the end of the list, resolve to carry out 25% of the resolutions.

It's simple and sure. Avoid the impossible, make two lists of bite size resolutions, resolve to complete 25% of them, and then get to work. It will change you life for the better. You will successfully prove that New Year's Resolutions can be easy and fun.