If you guessed that these are the top 5 New Year's resolutions, you would be correct.

If you stare at this list for extended period of time you will begin to notice that these are TERRIBLE goals. Wanting to get organized or exercise more are not inherently bad things, but setting vague goals with no written plan for how to achieve them is a recipe for failure. This is also the reason most people become frustrated and give up on their resolution after 66 days.

 

If you want to have a New Year's resolution that beats the odds, make sure it's SMART Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time bound

 

For example, if you would like to quit Smoking this year.

Specific:  Because Nicotine is an addiction think about specific reasons you have for quitting.

Example - I want to improve my health and the health of those around me.

I want to save the money I currently spend on cigarettes each week to invest for retirement

Measurable: How often to I smoke? When do I smoke?  How much do I smoke?

Instead of throwing away your cigarettes, start by decreasing how many you smoke per day.

Identify stressful situations that cause you to smoke more, try eliminating or avoiding those stressors

Achievable: Definitely!

Realistic: Do you actually want to quit smoking?

Are you currently surrounding yourself with people who will encourage you?

Do you need to avoid people or places that cause you to smoke more?

Time Bound: 2020!!!