This Year, I'm Going To . . .

The arrival of the New Year inspires us to fulfill our potential, change our habits, and remake ourselves closer to our heart's desire. If the world and time get a fresh start every 365 days, surely we deserve the same?

Every year, we make our resolutions with the very best of intentions and then watch them fall apart sometime before the advent of Spring.

The difficulty is that our dreams are so vast that it's too big a bite to swallow whole. The road to success is littered with boulders which we must navigate to reach our goal. Make your resolutions last by transforming those boulders into stepping stones, i.e., keep the changes minor and manageable.

Rather than "I'll quit" - smoking, or drinking, or eating too much - aim to cut back. If you smoke a pack a day, vow to maintain at 15 cigarettes a day for two months and then renegotiate downwards. If you down a six pack during the game, limit yourself to 4 bottles of suds until the baseball season starts. Rather than swearing to lose 20 pounds, plan on learning the habits that your eventual diet plan will need: record your weight and dimensions, start keeping a food diary, and ease into increased physical exercise.

The first faltering steps will be small but if you maintain them for 60 days, you will create an inner confidence that you can stay the course. When, and only when, you have small triumphs to celebrate, take larger strides that will help you develop and grow as the year wears on.