Every year in December, I get this sudden burst of inspiration. I decide enough is enough and it's time for me to make some changes. I'll be more disciplined this time - healthier, smarter, more fit, financially stable, and the list goes on. Then, I sit down and write what we call a "New Year's Resolution". See, this resolution is supposed to make me more accountable. More likely to actually accomplish my goals...right? Wrong. No matter how determined I think I am to be different or better myself or whatever, I somehow always manage to lose motivation...quickly. We're talking January 2nd, I'm out. It's always, "I don't have to be quite THAT strict", or "I can always start tomorrow", or of course, the classic, "well you only live once, right?" The thing is, the idea of making a "resolution" is that you're supposed to be resolute in whatever decision you're making...and the definition of resolute, according to Google, is "admirably purposeful, determined, and unwavering." Heh. Yeah, I don't know about you, but I've never been "unwavering" in any of my goals...ever. And I REALLY haven't ever taken my New Year's Resolutions that seriously. Until this year, that is.

I decided to do a little experiment in 2016. It took a year to finish but, for the most part, I'm pretty happy with the results. At the beginning of this year, I still sat down and made a list. But it was different than the lists I'd made before. I had seen a couple of ideas (on Pinterest, obviously) and thought I might as well try something new since nothing else seemed to work. This is the conclusion I came to - you really can't make any major adjustment to your lifestyle all at once. It just isn't realistic to set expectations like that. You have to take baby steps. The more baby steps you take, the more progress you make, the more motivation you gain, the harder you work, then before you know it, you've reached your goal! So, here's what I decided to do...

Instead of setting gargantuan goals for myself at the beginning of the year that I had no real plan to achieve, I sat down and made a REAL list. I picked a specific goal for each of the different areas in my life (relationships, financial, bucket list, school, etc.) that I wanted to attain by the end of the year. But, I didn't just leave it there this time. Underneath each goal, I wrote a short paragraph describing how I thought I could achieve that specific goal. Then, based off of that description, I came up with smaller steps I would take in order to get there. Each step was turned into a monthly goal - that way I would be held accountable at least 12 times out of the year instead of just the one time check-in at the end of December. I didn't know if it was actually going to work but, what did I have to lose? Well, I'm happy to say, while I may not have accomplished every single one of my goals for 2016, I definitely accomplished a whole lot more than I did in previous years ('cause that was basically nothing).

So, this year, instead of setting up a long list of unrealistic expectations for yourself based on a surge of confident energy that's just going to wear off by the end of the first week in January since all it was in the first place was a sugar rush from all the cookies you ate on Christmas vacation, maybe do something different and try putting together a more deliberate plan. Give yourself a real fighting chance to make some progress in 2017 - you just might surprise yourself! One important thing to remember throughout the year, however, is just to be patient - no one is perfect. Life happens...to everyone. And when it does, don't beat yourself up - just pick yourself up again, refocus, start over, and know it's okay to readjust those goals if you have to. We're all just as confused and befuddled as the next person, so this year let's all give a little extra grace and take on 2017 together! We got this!