Pie crust promises...

Easily made, easily broken.

  That is a pretty good description of New Year's resolutions.  Before you make any this year, look back at all the resolutions from your past. If you have made your current ones more than once, then do yourself a favor, and do not do it again.  The problem with using an annual holiday to mark a life change, is that the special day comes again in another 365 days.  If you fail to stick to your resolution this year, it is far too easy convince yourself that you can just try again in the next one.
    Why do you have to wait until the next New Year celebration to start your life changes? I do admit that last year, Ben and I dedicated 2012 to be a year for fixing me.  However, it was not really a resolution, as much as it was an idea.  Ben told me, if I wanted,  to use 2012 for myself.  It was up to me to take my first step in that direction, and I did so by making a start, not a promise.
     I'm not saying that you should not use tomorrow as a kick start to a new life.  January 1, 2013 is a great day to begin.  So is January 2nd.  Or February 1st.  Or any day, for that matter. It is not that the first day of a new year is a bad time to start a change, but do not use the cliche of a "New Year's Resolution" as a reason to improve your life.  Instead of a New Year's resolution, just make a start, period.  If you fall down, then pick yourself right back up.  Don't allow yourself to fall in to the trap of "well, there is always 2014."
     One of the most popular promises at the end of the year is the promise to lose weight, and get healthy.   It certainly makes a great illustration for what happens to resolutions.  Gym membership sky rockets in January.  Then February comes, and it slows down.  By Easter, many of those gym memberships have failed, and are given to the next new year.  There is no rule, or magic formula that says the start of all life changes have to be limited to New Year's Day.  You do not have to wait until the next year comes around to pick back up if you fall down!
   That is why I say do not make a resolution.  Instead, just make a small change tomorrow.  Do not go for seconds at dinner. Maybe replace a soft drink with a glass of water.  Instead of sitting around watching the television on your day off, go for a walk, or get outside and play with your family. By the end of the day, you will have made healthy choices without having made a single resolution. In doing so, you will have an easier time making similar choices the next day.
     You do not have to make yourself a promise for change to actually make a change.  If you promise yourself a new start tomorrow, why not step up to the plate now, and make the change today.  Keep pushing yourself.  Tomorrow may be the start of a new year, and that does make it special.  But any day that you decide to change your life for the better is special. A transformation that starts on the first of the year is no more important than one that starts on any given day.  
    A transformation is not going to have steady growth.  There will be bumps, there will be pot holes, there will be times when you want to give up.  A New Year's promise to start is easy, and it looks so much nicer wrapped up in a special date. The problem with that, is when you have to pick yourself back up later on.  It is hard to do, because getting back in to the groove does not  look as appealing without the frills of a holiday.  That is why I say do not use the New Year as your reason to change, even if it marks the start.  Come up with something better.  Make your start special because of what it means to you, not because of the holiday it happens to fall on.

A promise is much easier to make than a change, but a change is easier to keep than a promise.
Kristina