I do not know about you, but I do not think that I have ever completed any or all of my New Year’s Resolutions.

However, I can say that every year I have made significant progress toward greater personal growth. Most of those accomplishments were not all results of my original New Year’s Resolutions but more the result of actions that I took each day in and day out as I constantly thought about how to become a better person.

Those who follow me on Twitter, know that recently I said that as I get older I am less interested in cliche New Years’ resolutions and more interested in what I call “life improvement alterations.” Maybe this is my subconscious way of avoiding the fact that maybe the reason I didn’t complete my resolutions in the past is that I lacked the discipline to complete them. Maybe this is my way of psyching myself out and calling “resolutions” by a different name. Whichever the case, I still think I am going to resist the temptation to make them.

That being said, my “non-resolution” this year is to stop making resolutions, and instead focus more on permanent, constant, year-round LIFE IMPROVEMENT ALTERATIONS. Wait, is that still a resolution? Crap. Haha!

To be honest, there is a magical freedom that comes with the dawn of a new year, society gives us permission to forgive ourselves of the past hiccups, uh-ohs, and flubs of the closing year and encourages us to embrace the hope that in the next year we can change just about everything. We drink the energy and enter the new year with possibly the greatest amount of positivity of any month in the entire year. We start the race. Everyone starts strong, then the “burn” hits the body and we slow down, or even completely stop to rest or quit.

On the other hand, some people push through until the second wind kicks in to complete the race and actually complete all their resolutions. Those that finish are most likely the ones that talk to themselves throughout the entire race.

“Only three-fourths of the way to go,”

“I completed half, so I might as well finish.”

“Come on, you can do it. Breath, you’re almost finished.”

They are the ones that understand the importance of our mentality about success. It must be consistent, positive, and determined to complete ANY goal. So, in this context, talk is cheap, and wishful thinking will not produce a complete resolution. In other words, resolutions are a waste unless we have the resolve to be resolute in our resolutions.

My personal thought is that making permanent, consistent improvements to our thoughts and bodies will likely take us further in the race than any resolution ever will. If we give ourselves the freedom to forgive ourselves for the mistakes me make at any point in the year and start over with a refreshed mindset every day, we will be more apt to accomplish more than a New Year’s list can ever do. And finally, if we give ourselves permission to be fearless enough to actually live outside the confines of societal timetables and rules, we will probably write dreams bigger than we can even accomplish in one year.

So…

1. Make the resolution that you will stop waiting for a new year to start making resolutions.

2. Start focusing on living a productive, purpose-filled life that requires daily resolutions.

3. Focus more on permanent life improvement edits that can be made at any time of any day of any month.

4. Work more on your mindset and discipline needed to sustain long-term goals and success.

5. Give yourself permission to forgive yourself for making mistakes along the way and begin again at any time of year.