At the beginning of every year so many of us commit to change and worthy goals to be accomplished in the next twelve months only to be disappointed come next December 31 when we discover we are no closer to achieving those resolutions than we were on January 1. So I looked at this issue and created four useful suggestions to increase the probability you will succeed with your New Year’s resolutions.

Quantify your resolutions

Sometimes we are just too vague about what we want. Therefore, a resolution such as, “I want to lose weight this year” will probably fail. It is too vague. How much weight? Be specific. What would your ideal weight be, less what do you weigh now is what you are going after.

Set a deadline

Resolutions that are to be achieved “as soon as possible” wind up in the heap of “Someday I’ll”. Deadlines make commitments. They put it on the line and define when failure occurs. Deadlines also help us to break the resolution down into little bite-sized pieces. For example, if your goal is to lose 25 pounds by June 30, that translates into approximately 4 pounds per month, one pound per week, or a daily reduction of caloric intake (or an increase in daily caloric burn) of just 500 calories per day. Now that’s manageable. 500 calories a day is easy to achieve. 25 pounds seems like a leap across the Grand Canyon. Until we quantify our goal, set a deadline, then break it down to its daily requirements, the resolution will forever seem unattainable.

Change one or two things at a time

We generally do not like change. We seek the familiar and avoid the strange. The more change you put yourself through, the higher the probability your campaign will collapse. Focus in on one or two of the more important resolutions you seek to accomplish this year. When you achieve one or the other, start on the next one.

Be realistic

There’s just something about the start of a new year that gets us all wound up for change, sometimes extraordinary and unrealistic changes. We become much like the child in the candy store whose eyes are bigger than his stomach. Be realistic. You can only accomplish a certain amount within a period of time. Don’t saddle yourself with unrealistic resolutions that will only spell failure later on.

Published: January 2, 2003

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Dr. Donald E. Wetmore has been a full-time Professional Speaker for the last 20 years having made over 2,000 presentations to audiences from around the Globe. He is available to conduct his dynamic Time Management Seminars at your location helping your people get more done in less time, with less stress. Don's programs are entertaining, fast paced, and filed with practical, common sense ideas. His seminars are typically rated as "the best I have ever attended." For more information, contact Don via e-mail at or call him at (203) 386-8062 and (800) 969-3773.