Ok, so January 1 has come and gone.  You made your New Year's resolutions, right?  And, as of today, you’ve kept them, right?

If yes,that’s great.  But, how many days has it been?  By next month this time, what’s  your guess; will you have kept all of them? Half of them?  One of them?  None?

It’s not hard to make new year resolutions, so what makes it hard to keep?  For one thing, you may not make resolutions that are keepable.

For a resolution to be keepable,

1. It has to be doable, within your control.  That means, it is something you really want,and you can find a way to make it happen. For instance, wanting to find a partner is not doable – unless you don’t care about your standards.  You don’t really have control if a person you want to be with will come into your life,and be ready for a relationship.  Or, you may resolve to get a better paying job. Well, that may or may not be in your control.  You certainly have to do your part, but you may not be able to make that happen.
2.  It has to be something about which you have no ambivalence.  I want to be nicer to my mother-in-law.  If you really don’t like her, and if you haven’t figured out how you are going to do that (see #3 below), this will not be a resolution you will keep.
3. It has to have a specific goal with set (and doable) results.  For instance, “I want to learn to dance, so I will take dancing lessons once a week at the local dance studio.  I am sending in my registration fee right now.”
4. It cannot be a vague resolution. Wanting to loose weight, a frequently dropped resolution, is not a good choice because it is too vague.  How much weight, by when.  What are the steps you will take to get there (see #2 above and #5 below)?  You can see why this is rarely an accomplished resolution
5. It has to have frequent rewards to insure the continuation of the resolution.  For instance, if you want to stop swearing, just saying it won’t work. You need to build in rewards to keep you focused on this goal.  You might keep a chart of every time you catch yourself using one and every time you catch yourself before it comes out of your mouth.  Then, tally up each column at the end of each day.  That way,you can see progress over the weeks. And, keeping the daily chart is a reminder to keep your goal.  

Now, because I know most people have a hard time keeping resolutions – whether they are personal or business – I am offering a great service.  It is FREE and very private.  It’s a guaranteed way for you to keep your resolutions  -- assuming they are keepable, as listed above.

It’s called a Letter to Yourself. Check it out for details.