New Year’s Resolutions

Depending on your source, somewhere between 40 and 70% of Americans will make New Year’s Resolutions this year…and most of those resolutions won’t be kept. Do you make resolutions?

I find that resolutions can give me focus for the year ahead, help me stay on track when I get busy and distracted (usually somewhere around January 12.)

At the start of 2009, one of my critique group members collected resolutions from everyone. Did I make them all? No. But I definitely pushed harder in my writing life last year, knowing I’d have to report back to my writing buddies at the end of the year!

What resolutions will challenge you to grow as a writer in the New Year? A resolution to write every day for 20 minutes? To read a book a week? To attend a conference or retreat?

There’s an art to creating resolutions to inspire rather than backfire. For more info and insight, check out these resources:

• “How to Make Resolutions You’ll Keep” by Adrian Savage on www.lifehack.org takes a look at prior failed resolutions with an eye to improving odds of future success.
• “The Psychology of New Year’s Resolutions” by John M Grohol PsyD talks about how your beliefs about self-control impact your ability to achieve your goals.
• “Balanced Life: More Tips About Making and Keeping New Year’s Resolutions” by Gretchen Rubin discusses why the ability to make and keep resolutions is essential to happiness—and offers suggestions on how to do so.

Good luck, and happy 2010!

:) Cheryl