"New Year, New..."

"New year, new you. New year, new change."

There are so many mottos that people use to embrace the newness of the New Year. I love what a new year and January 1st stand for and I'm sure there are many people who would agree with me. However, what I don't love is the idea of setting myself up to fail. How so? By setting New Year's Resolutions that I don't stick to or that I conveniently forget by mid January. So how can we set goals for ourselves without constantly feeling defeated or guilty when we can meet those goals? Easy...Here are my FAB FIVE tips for making New Year's Resolutions and goals:

1. BE REALISTIC. That sounds easy enough but not many people are realistic with their goals. For example, don't make losing 30 pounds by the end of January as a goal because that's a little unrealistic even for the most dedicated fitness guru. 

2. SET TIME LINES. "A dream becomes a goal when there is a time line attached to it." - I love this quote because it's true. Set a REALISTIC time line for yourself and stick to it. 

3. WRITE IT DOWN. The easiest way to stay dedicated is to see what you are doing. With the amazing smartphones we have now, it's easy to download a "memo/task app" and keep track of your progress. 

4. LIMIT YOURSELF. It's great to have goals and lots of them but along with giving yourself time lines and being realistic, you need to ensure you're not putting too much on your plate. If you do, you won't be focused and you'll eventually give up on all your goals. Set 3-4 BIG goals and work on those and then move on to other goals. 

5. HAVE FUN! As much as I'm hard on myself and I hate not meeting my goals, I make sure that I still have fun with my goals and the ways in which I meet them. If you are too serious with it, it won't be something you WANT to do. 

Here are my main New Year's Resolutions:

1. Take more courses/participate in more workshops that go towards my career. 

2. Workout 3-4 a week. Every week. (Along with that is reducing my consumption of unhealthy food & eating out at restaurants). 

3. Volunteer more!

Those are my goals for 2014. What are some of yours? Comment. Share.