Around this time last year, I decided that I really needed to make some changes in my life. However, I did not want to just make a list of difficult things that I knew I would regret or forget. I made a list of things I wanted to do that I knew I could. While some of the things on my list may not have worked out the way I envisioned them, I am proud to say that I continually found ways to work on each thing on my list all throughout the year. So I thought I would share how to make some New Year’s Resolutions that you will want to keep.

1. Dream big, but start small. One of the things on my list that didn’t work out for me was taking a dance class. For me, it was a time conflict as well as a childcare one. Instead, I got out my Just Dance games (I pretty much have all of them. I am a HUGE addict) and danced… a lot! My husband knows how much I love the games and that I wanted to try Zumba, but all the classes conflict with my schedule. So he got me Zumba for the Wii. The other part about all of this is nice is that I am not afraid to screw up because no one else is looking at me!

2. Create realistic goals. If you want to lose weight, that is great. However, giving yourself a goal of losing a bunch of weight in a short amount of time is only setting yourself up for failure. Not only that, the temptation to use unsafe diet practices is greater with an unrealistic goal, and you may run into health problems or gain the weight back. Make sure that what you want is realistic and give it proper time.

3. Research your resolutions and have a strategy. If you want to eliminate debt, research your options and plan it out. There are a lot of great programs and strategies to do it, and if you don’t know what you are doing, you are most likely to get frustrated and give up.

4. Don’t make ‘Bandwagon’ resolutions. What I mean by this is don’t say you are going to do something because everyone else is doing it or you are being guilted into it by all the commercials on TV right now. Make resolutions for yourself.

5. Have accountability. For my accountability, I published my list for the whole world to see. I also wrote a few posts related to it throughout the year mostly so I could check in with my progress. For example, if you want to start a fitness plan, find a buddy who can workout with you.

6. Jump back on the horse. We are all human and imperfect. Sometimes we make mistakes. However, we need to brush away the guilt and get back to our goal. Just keep going.

7. Believe in yourself. If you don’t believe you can do something, well you can’t. Ultimately, if you want it bad enough, you must have the confidence to make it happen.

I hope you find my advice useful. Honestly, I did not make any resolutions this year. I am just going to keep working on my list from last year. It is all a good work in progress! What do you want to tackle in your life this year?