It seems to me that in the past few years the idea of a New Year’s Resolution is waning. Any talk is in a joking or cynical manner. I’ve seen a lot of memes and comics depicting the absurdity and ‘trendiness’ of the New Year’s Resolution, as well as the irresolute nature of John and Jane Q. Public.

However, I feel that this opportunity for self and communal improvement ought to be taken in a different light.

Here are some reason I have come up with to take advantage of this opportunity:

• It’s the first day of the year. This is the EASIEST starting point to count streaks of days, weeks or months. All of our brand new calendars are fresh and clean, ready to be ticked with check marks for “resolution complete!” Keeping track of accomplishment days will give the confidence to keep going, building momentum into new habits.
• What a great chance to network the support of EVERYONE ELSE going through the same life-improving steps! Many resolutions are similar in nature, allowing us to talk about them and communicate support and motivation.
• Luckily, many companies cater to the New Year’s Resolution mindset and the competition results in lots of “start-up” deals and introductory offers. These can help get resolutions in order AND save some money.
• After the “over-consume, over-spend, over-eat” attitude that typically accompanies the holidays, it is probably a good time to be aware of the pocketbook and the waistline.
• Many resolutions are going to have residual positive effects around us. Some are direct in the nature of donation or volunteering. Others are indirect such as being a happier friendlier citizen.

Here are some tips to help maintain and enforce New Year’s Resolutions:

• Write them down, in multiple strategic highly visible locations. Even if smart-phones have fancy apps, a sticky note on the mirror seen first thing in the morning might provide more motivation.
• Set a manageable number of goals. There is barely enough time to do what we already do every day. Suddenly throwing a bunch of extra routines into the mix is going to be stressful and discouraging. Somewhere from 3 to 5.
• Goals should be challenging but attainable. The most important thing to remember is that simply changing the daily routine and developing any habit is a challenge in itself. Setting goals that are impractical will only cause early abandonment. Allow for re-evaluation and new goal-setting once the established goals have become regular and “easy”.
• Reward systems that are not counter-productive will give incentive to keep going. These should not contradict the resolution, or the resolution itself will be seen as a punishment, with “relief” as a reward. Set up systems to reward future goal achievements.
• When writing goals, include the purpose of the goal or why it is being set. Cite that purpose when willpower is wavering. Small reminders always help.
• No days off! Periodic alterations in the practice to allow for “easy days” is fine, but breaking the momentum of a habit is counter-productive.

Happy New Years and good luck with those resolutions!

Here are two of my resolutions:
~Yoga every day, at least 10 minutes
~Jog with my dog every day, at least 15 minutes

Put yours in the comments, maybe I’ll do math with them =)