New Year’s Resolutions just like ideas don’t keep; you have to do something about them. And this is when the problems come in. Because we usually don’t do much about those goals especially after January fades into history.

Let me share three great tips that will give your resolutions (or any other goals) a chance to survive beyond January.

• Is it your own New Year’s Resolution or are you following somebody else’s agenda? Is this something you really want to achieve? Or is it an expectation you made your own? It is hard enough to work towards your heart’s desires, but nearly impossible to reach the goals that are not yours deep down. Don’t set up yourself for failure. If it is not YOUR goal, just cross it off your list now.
• Keep it a secret if you have to. Some New Year’s Resolutions are best kept under covers. No, you don’t have to share them with your friends, family or colleagues automatically. You most probably heard about the power of making your goals public and the accountability that comes with a public announcement. And it will work in your favor IF have a supportive environment around you. If you have a reason to suspect that all you get is discouragement, lack of trust in your abilities and good advice on why you should give up before beginning – your best bet is to keep things under cover.  
• Choose your goal every day until it becomes a habit. You make a choice every day anyway – do you adhere to your resolution or do you chose to forget it and postpone it for tomorrow? It will help you tremendously if you pull those unconscious decisions to the light and decide to make conscious decisions every day from now on. Write down your choice every morning to serve as a reminder for the whole day.  It might take up to a month until your new choices become habits, so be prepared to spend a minute or two to write out your choice every morning and then carry the note with you not just in your heart but in your purse, too. Just in case you need an extra reminder.

In my next blog post I share a few more practical tips on how to make sure your New Year’s Resolutions thrive this year.  

Anything you want. Just take action. Today.