With 2012 almost over it’s time to start looking ahead to the New Year.  Are you determined to find work this year?  Do you want to run a marathon, eat healthier, or change career paths?  If so, the New Year is a great time to start putting your goals into action.  And even though New Year’s resolutions are a bit cliché, since most people’s resolutions tend to be vague or platitudinal in nature, and thus easy to forget or neglect, they’re still a great practice to attempt.  The most difficult part however, is not starting a resolution, but sticking to it. 

Have you ever noticed how busy fitness centres get in January?  Well, if you’re a regular you’ll also notice that this influx of new people tends to vanish by late February.  Why is this?  Well, for starters, resolutions are hard to keep.  When you make a resolution you’re resolving to act in a manner different than what you’re accustomed to, and this new behaviour may be difficult and it may not offer the same rewards.  So if you plan on sticking to your new resolution you’ll have to have determination and a plan.  To help you get started here are five tips to assist you with your resolution this year!

1. Pick a Resolution That’s Right for You
   
   Choosing a resolution can be tough.  Perhaps you feel pressure from your family to quit smoking or be more active, but unless this is something that you really want to do it’s very unlikely that you’ll be successful.  Your heart has to be behind your decision.  So when you're trying to think of the right resolution, try thinking of both your future and past selves.  What kind of person do you want to be one year from today?  What sort of things made you really proud or happy this year?  Focus your thoughts around these ideas and try to come up with a resolution that will perpetuate the good from this year, and allow you to grow into the person you want to be a year from now.
    
2. Avoid Really Broad Goals
   
   Let us say that your main resolution is to get in shape.  Although that’s a great goal to have, how will you know when you’ve achieved it?  Do you stop after you lose 10 pounds or do you stop after you can run 10kms?  Without any specificity it could be a challenge to progress for a long period of time, because the end may seem too far or too difficult to reach.  Hence, it’s important that when you pick a resolution to make sure that it’s specific enough that you can set miniature goals to help you feel a sense of accomplishment as you’re working towards the end result.  If you want to lose weight for instance, you should have a specific goal in mind that's not too ambitious, but difficult enough that you'll have to work at it throughout the year.  If you want to lose 30 pounds for example, make a schedule of smaller monthly goals that will work towards your desired result.  In this case you'll want to lose 2.5 pounds each month.  And as long as you keep achieving your smaller goal of 2.5 pounds, you’ll feel good about your progress, and stay motivated throughout the year. 
    
3. Don’t Break the Chain
   
   I read a really interesting blog post earlier this year that described an idea from Jerry Seinfeld on how to stay productive, and the same idea applies here so I thought I’d share it.  Seinfeld’s idea was to put constant pressure on himself, and he did this by coming up with a unique calendar system.  The first thing to do is to go out and buy a big calendar and red magic marker from your local drug store.  Put the calendar on your wall and mark a big X for every day you work on something related to your goal.  After a few days of doing this you’ll have a nice red chain.  Now, the only thing you have to do, and this is the most important thing, is to not break the chain.  It’s a simple enough idea, but it has powerful results.  After a while you’ll like seeing a large unbroken chain on your wall and this pleasure will help motivate you to continue working towards your goal.  Eventually this behaviour will become habit, and you’ll find yourself doing it every day regardless of the calendar.  And, what’s more, if you work on something a little each day, you’ll be amazed at how much you can accomplish over a short period of time.
    
4. Start Small
   
   Maybe you’ve resolved to find a more meaningful career this year, and though that’s a great goal, it’s fairly ambitious.  Finding a new job is a lot of work, and so you’ll want to start small.  It will be a good idea to set up a schedule.  Maybe in the first week you’ll work really hard to improve your resume, and then in week two you can focus on finding jobs to apply for, which may mean that in week three you start tailoring your resume to these jobs.  This is just an example, but the important part is that you keep chipping away at the larger goal by accomplishing smaller ones.  When you actually accomplish a goal you’ll feel good about yourself and you’ll be more likely to continue this positive behaviour, and, as long as you keep working at the larger goal, there’s no limit to what you can do.
    
5. Reward Yourself
   
   At the end of the day, whatever resolution you choose, make sure you reward yourself for your successes.  Buy yourself something nice if you’ve kept up the chain for one month by writing something each day or go on a short vacation if you’ve stayed away from cigarettes for a few weeks.  Just make sure that you don't give up after you’ve rewarded yourself.  One of the biggest reasons people fail to keep their resolutions is because they give up too quickly.  Keep working on the little things like staying positive and motivated, and you’ll have a much greater chance of success. 

If you have a resolution for 2013 that you'd like to share please comment below!  Or, if you have any further advice you'd like to add feel free to make an addition to this thread!