Listverse has a list of Top 10 New years Resolutions they are:

1. Spend Time with Loved Ones
2. Get Fit
3. Lose Weight
4. Stop Smoking
5. Enjoy Life More
6. Stop Drinking
7. Get Out of Debt
8. Learn Something New
9. Be More Charitable
10. Reorganize Life

Most people make long lists, often like this. Then loose their resolve a few weeks into the new year, then make the same list for the next year. If you try to change too much at one time you will fail. Small, incremental change is much better and much easier. Also some goals are just going to fail if they don’t have other complementary goals with them or if they conflict with each other.

For example, a heavy drinker will have a hard time quitting smoking and someone who is trying to quit smoking will have a hard time loosing weight. Enjoying life more while quitting smoking and drinking could easily fail. And spending more time with loved ones just might drive you to drink.

If someone wants to do all of these then they should take it one step at a time, such as reorganizing life, then spending more time with loved ones, then learning to enjoy life more, then cutting down on the drinking, then quitting smoking, then loosing weight and getting in shape, etc. Baby steps.

A few years back I made my last New Years Resolution, it was to not make New Years Resolutions. That may seem kind of defeatist, but I had seen the trend of making three or four resolutions and failing at all of them.

We shouldn’t be evaluating our lives once a year, it should be a continual thing. We should always be looking at ways to improve, and always make an effort to be better people. New Years Resolutions are just a recipe for failure.

Oh, before I forget, have a Happy New Year!