2012 Resolutions for a Great New Year!

Here are some of the most popular New Year’s Resolutions:
1. Work-life balance/reduce stress
2. Travel more/take a trip
3. Get out of debt/save money
4. Get in shape/lose weight
5. Spend more time with family
6. Quit smoking/kick a habit
7. Have better style
8. Get a new/better job
9. Find a spouse/improve relationships
10. Learn something new
11. Drink less
12. Get organized

What resolutions will you make for 2012? Interestingly, most people don't keep their resolutions because, well...life gets in the way. Also, it takes at least 21 days to create a new habit and most of us won't commit to change for the period of time it takes to become a new habit.

Baby steps. You don't have to make a major overhaul. Choose small achievable goals that you can measure easily. Then, pat yourself on the back for making that small step and take another one. It's like one of my favorite sayings, "How do you eat an elephant?" Answer - "One bite at a time!"

I believe 2012 will be one of the best years ever. I'm really looking forward to it. I can have less stress and more balance, along with getting in shape and taking a few pounds off if I simply walk my dogs every day. They love, I love it and I get to kill two resolutions with one stone.

I definitely plan to travel in 2012. I have a trip (or two) planned for every month. Some are farther away than others, but they are all a way to allow for a recharge. I'm looking forward to Salt Lake City, Utah the first week in January. Second week I have a limited distance endurance ride planned. Then I can accomplish the goal of spending more time with family when my sister Julie and family come to visit in the third week. The fourth week we will be camping at the Daytona International Speedway for the Rolex 24 hours of Daytona! And that's just January!

I'm also looking forward to London and Paris in May, Vegas in June, Denver in July, Glacier National Park in August and a few other sides trips here and there!

We can all do a better job of saving money. I need to get back to more automatic saving so I don't have to think about it. Just take $50 a paycheck or a month and have it automatically go into a savings account. You'll be surprised how much you've saved by the end of the year. Use that account to put unexpected checks that arrive as well and your nest egg will continue to grow!

I quit smoking more than 15 years ago so I'll have to think of another habit to give up. Cursing might be a good one?

Have a better style. Not sure what that means but I guess for me, it means I'll take the time to style my hair every day instead of taking the lazy girl way out and putting it up in a pony tail or barettes. This one will be the hardest for me.

Not planning on getting any new or better jobs since I own my own company. Still, I have opportunities to improve the level of service we provide, do more marketing, become more visible, write more, etc. Have any suggestions you can offer? I'd be happy to hear them.

I have a spouse, Joe Allen. Not making any changes there except we can all work on the quality of our relationships. Someone once said, "love is not something you feel, it's something you do." I believe that and we can all improve in that area. We can all learn a lot of lessons from our dogs - they love us unconditionally. There's even a new country music song about how a guy wants his gal to love him like his dog! How true.

I'm always interested in learning something new. I'll have to pick something and I'm open to suggestions.

Drinking less is a good goal. It's easy to get into the habit of having a drink every evening when you get home from work. I think I'll pledge not to do that and always drink in moderation. One drink, followed by a glass of water before the next one. At least I won't wake up with a hangover!

I love to be organized. It's funny, the more organized I am, the less I can find. But this is definitely a goal for me. In fact, I'm cleaning my office all day tomorrow and I'll work on my house over the holidays!

I'm wishing you the best 2012 ever! We all deserve a better year. Be positive, be happy and thank everybody for everything!