Happy New Year!

Well, this is the season when everyone greets me saying "Happy new year!".  Hmmm....I wonder--are there things I can do to ensure that this new year actually is a better year for me?  Things like eating right, getting enough sleep, spending time with loved ones, getting ahead financially...you know--all the stuff of previous years resolutions?

It seem to me that one of the problems with New Years' resolutions is that we tend to set such high goals, we drop out as soon as we fail a few times. So, how do I set reasonable goals?  Well-first, I have to be really motivated. I must choose to do something that I've wanted for a long time to do.  Lets take, for example, "eating right". What does that mean?

Does "eating right" mean that I cut out all processed sugar? Does it mean I become a veggitarian?  Does it mean I start the South Beach Diet?  Whatever I decide I am going to do, it needs to be:
1) specific and 2) mearurable.  So--I need a way to track my own behavior.  A journal of what I am actually doing, not what I want to be doing.  Writing down my actual behavior is one of the best ways to change behavior and to monitor how it changes.

Additionally, it really helps if you can find a "partner in change" A spouse, a parent, a sibling or friend--the more the merrier. Surely you can find someone out there who wants to make a similar change to yours?  Meet with them weekly, or, better yet, phone them every other day or so.  Tell them about your cheating as well as your successes!

Then--you and your buddy are ready to plan the plan together.  What will you both commit to doing and how will you hold one another accountable? phone calls, emails, graphs?  When you know that you are not alone in wanting to change, change is so much easier!  And, as long as your at it, don't just do a new years resolution, once you've learned how easy it is to change--keep setting new goals--an awesome life is the limit!