Are Your New Year's Resolutions "Gone With The Wind?"

You know the routine - a New Year and a fresh start. All past attempts at losing the weight, staying on task, remembering appointments, or being more organized are wiped clean as you are offered a "king's x" or "re-do" as the clock strikes midnight and you have a full 365 (or even better, 366 - it's Leap year) days to once again step on the merry-go-round of wishful thinking.

It's a known fact that all New Year's Resolutions if not written down ~ is simply wishing out loud. Granted resolutions are given an honest attempt in January but come February, a half-hearted or worse, no attempt is made, and is now compounded by the guilt at not succeeding in the first place.

Don't despair! You still have plenty of time to succeed in your resolutions. This time, instead of merely stating your resolutions, write them down. This transfers a thought into a goal! The following steps will help you in stating your goals for the New Year:

• Statement of goal: It must be specific, measurable, achievable, and realistic.

• Priority: Rank your goals according to how important it is to you.

• Term of goal: Short (within 3 months) Medium (6 months) or Long Term (it is a start but will take longer than a year to complete.)

• Action Steps to achieve your goal: Break it down to smaller tasks, so that you can see small rewards. If you are losing weight, set your smaller goal to the first 5 pounds. Each time you achieve this smaller goal - celebrate this victory as a step toward the larger picture. Want to reorganize the kitchen? Tackle the junk drawer first before another zone in the kitchen area. Set small achievable goals so you can measure your success.

• Finally, the age-old questio
"Is it worth it to me?" Are you truly willing to dedicate the time and effort it will take to achieve this goal?

Put your goals down on paper before all your resolutions are "gone with the wind." You now have a plan of action that can be implemented immediately. Post it in a spot where you can view it every day and by the end of the year you can celebrate all the goals you achieved for 2008!