With every new year comes new plans and resolutions to help us better ourselves. At least to some degree. Many people vow that the new year will be one of new relationships or new habits. But inevitably, somewhere along the way we end up losing sight of resolutions and we become discouraged. Let's face it: a whole year is a kind of a long commitment. It's 12 months, 365 days, and more importantly it 8760 hours.

Knowing myself alone, I know without a doubt I cannot stick to one goal. I'm terrified of commitments, unless I've invested a lot of time and money into it. Even then I have second thoughts, and try to bail. I can always give myself a thousand reasons why I should quit, or not even risk do something. But in the end, I know that I am scared of failing and by telling myself that if I never start that I never have to fail.

This year however, will be different. Because instead of viewing things as one large whole goal for the entire year, I instead plan on giving myself challenges. You may ask, "why challenges?" Well challenges can be fun, competitive, and I for one have a hard time backing down from a challenge. These challenges can span anywhere from a week to a month. If I can maintain them for a simple month, then I can then challenge myself to another month, and even add on more stipulations.

By breaking things down into their individual components, it allows you as individual to visualize feasible goals that help build up momentum for your long term goals. As of this new year, the only rules or parameters that I am going to give myself are the following:

1. Forget Perfection

This is life we are dealing with. Life is messy and uncontrollable, so why strive for a perfection that is non-existent? By striving for this, all we do is put unnecessary pressure on ourselves on top of the pressure that we feel from society. We should be telling ourselves that it is okay that we have messed up, that we have learned from our mistake, and now we know what we do not want.

2. Keep Going No Matter What

When we set out on any task, the moment we mess up and feel that we cannot recover is when we automatically think of calling things quits. This year, there is no calling it quits. It is about encouraging myself to keep my head up and stay strong. This rule can apply to school, work, life style changes, you name it. Just do not give up because when you do, you are not just giving up a goal; you are giving up on yourself.

3. Put MY Happiness Above Others

This rule sounds a bit selfish and that is okay. There is nothing wrong with wanting to find my happiness. In fact, I refuse to sacrifice my own in order to help serve in someone else's pity party. The best thing that you can do for others is help where you can, but don't get pulled down into their unhappiness. There comes a point in many friendships when you have to say "enough is enough." There will always be only so much advice that you can give, and it may be the best advice in the world. However, if they do not want to change, they won't.

4. Don't Forget to Laugh, Smile, and Be Kind:

If I forget all the other rules except this one, I will be okay. This year, I choose to laugh and find the bright side in the gloomiest of places. I choose to smile no matter how I'm feeling, and no matter how goofy my grin may seem to others. Last but not least, I choose to be kind throughout this new year. This is one resolution that I have made every year, and will always make every year. Because no matter how kind we believe ourselves to be, we will always have more room to grow and improve. By doing any of these things we even have the potential to help make someone else's day a little brighter.

So here is to a year filled with many challenges, and many imperfections. Because it is okay to be imperfect as long as I keep going with a smile on my face, and find my happiness along the way.