by Ana Choi

Created on: December 12, 2008   Last Updated: December 15, 2008

How many times have you written a new year's resolution, posted it up everywhere and even framed it only to reach the end of that year in worse shape than when you started? Like everything in your life, if you want to change anything you first need to asses it and to do that you need to see the problem in question objectively and take measures to correct it little by little. Usually what we do on New Year's eve is to picture ourselves loosing 40 pounds, having 100K more income out of nowhere, quit smoking, curbing all our debts, but we never actually trace a strategy plan towards these goals and we never ask ourselves if the goal is reasonable and attainable. Resolutions done this way are not even resolutions, they're simply wishful thinking and are will doomed from the start.

If you really want to design an attainable resolution the first thing you must take into consideration is your reality: Is loosing 40 pounds possible and have you been 40 lighter in the recent past? Is this goal objective? If you want an extra income of 100K have you considered which are the possible sources of income that can help you attain this figure? And if your New Year's resolution is to curb all of your credit card debts, have you actually looked into all your bank statements, faced the problem and devised a plan to pay them without literally killing your pocket? It is of utmost importance to face the area you want change and clearly discover the source that is causing the problem. Then device a plan. If loosing weight is your target, you will have to accept that it is a journey, that you need to change your lifestyle and that the process might be slow and also that loosing 40 pounds in 3 months is hazardous to your health, so it is better to set small goals and reach those slowly than setting a very ambitious goal and not reaching it by the end of the year. If curbing debt is your goal, see how much you owe first then see how much you earn and work out your budget estimates and see where you can sacrifice spending less in order to pay your debts first, and then work out a realistic time frame where in you can finish paying your debts and don't get disappointed if it will take two years. If stop smoking is your resolution, you can start by smoking a pack less every day instead of quitting at once.

The whole idea of making a resolution successful is to first look into the area you want to change objectively, asses the problem then take quantitative and explicit measures and last carry them out slowly but surely. This will assure you that by next year if you're not yet at your target you will at least be very near.

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