A new year means a new lifestyle for many. Maybe this year you will eat healthier, spend your money more wisely, or learn to play the saxophone. The possibility for change and improvement is seemingly endless with the arrival of the year 2013.

But really, are the possibilities endless? Will the resolutions you make on New Year’s Day enhance you as a person or will they slowly fizzle out half way through February?

And just what makes us decide that Jan. 1 is the only day we can make resolutions for our life?

From our elementary years we were taught and told by our parents that Jan.  1 was a day for resolutions.

For years we have obediently followed this rule without really knowing why.

The idea of New Year’s resolutions began in the pre-Christian era with the Romans belief in Janus, a god with two faces, one looking back into the past and the other looking forward into the future.

Resolutions were said to be made in order to please Janus. As common knowledge, most people do not aim to please the god Janus anymore, but it seems to be a tradition that has stuck with us throughout all of these centuries.

While making New Year’s resolutions seem to be a wonderful idea at the start of the year, we easily slip into the pattern of not following through with them after a few months or even weeks.

Unless you have a good sense of willpower or set easy goals, you are unlikely to achieve your resolutions for an entire calendar year. This is just the cold, hard truth of the matter.

But don’t fret, a solution can be found. Instead of making a list of resolutions for the year, why not make a list of resolutions for the day?

You can start any day, today, tomorrow, five months from now. It will be simple: write down what you want to accomplish for the day: workout for 30 minutes, don’t eat that candy bar, and study for your economics test.

This may sound a lot like a to-do list, because, well, it is.

The fact is, we feel accomplished and good about ourselves when we have crossed off what is on our list. We look down and realize we have been successful with our day.

However, accomplishing a few, daily goals seems a lot more tangible than a daunting list of resolutions tacked above our desk.

Challenging yourself and bettering yourself should occur daily. You shouldn’t feel constricted to one set of goals, but instead come up with them daily.

Maybe today you don’t feel like promoting world peace, but would rather learn to knit a cat sweater.

Whatever your resolution may be, make it count and don’t feel obligated to wait until next year to make a change in your life.

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