Real resolutions

Q: Why do most people abandon their New Year's resolutions so quickly? How much of a role does goal-setting play in achieving success? What are the most effective resolutions you have made?

I think the average New Year's resolution is more about hope than accomplishment. Unfortunately, hope is not a strategy!

It's easy to abandon a goal when you had no real idea of how you might actually achieve it. If you want to quit smoking, you have to look at dealing with your compulsive behavior or mindset that consistently creates the need. If you like to buy really expensive stuff, you need to ask yourself who you are trying to impress and why it's worth creating a financial problem for yourself.

That's a better resolution strategy that just relying on your willpower. No offense (which is what you say right before you offend someone), but if your willpower worked, you wouldn't have the problem to begin with.

My own most effective resolution was to stop dating women who had no chance of being a long-term partner. Apparently my picker was broken when it came to relationships.

I met a woman years ago who I thought was my soul mate ... but after a while I realized that if she was my soul mate, there must be something horribly wrong with my soul! It's amazing how your relationships will improve when you stop dating the mentally ill.

By Garrison Wynn  |  December 31, 2009; 1:04 AM ET  | Category:  resolutions Save & Share:                 
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