Lose weight, find a new job, quit smoking, start exercising … Making New Year’s resolutions offers a fresh start at success, and often, a renewed sense of motivation to make ourselves healthier, happier, more fulfilled, productive, and successful in the coming year.
Many online resources can help you not only set realistic goals for the year, but also help you develop strategies for keeping those resolutions.
From reducing stress to quitting smoking or seeking a better education, the Citizens section the U.S. government web site offers specific strategies to help with popular New Year’s resolutions.
An accompanying article entitled “Resolve to Keep Those New Year’s Resolutions,“ includes three pieces of general advice for keeping the promises you make to yourself. Dr. Bernard Davidson, a family psychologist at the Medical College of Georgia Health System, says: be committed, be prepared for setbacks, and track your progress.
The American Psychiatric Association and WebMD also offer several tips and more detailed advice for keeping resolutions.
Life Tango is an “online community” designed to help create meaningful goals, and then interact with others to exchange ideas and garner mutual support.
The following web sites provide tips, advice educational materials and other tools pertaining to specific goals and resolutions:
- The American Heart Association web site includes sections devoted to helping individuals learn CPR and stop smoking.
- Charity Navigator is a complete guide to making charitable contributions… from listing organizations by category, to providing insightful articles on giving, this site is a must-see when considering your next charitable donation.
- Both Men’s Health and Women’s Health offer online supplements to their respective print magazines… From daily tips to helpful (free!) articles on nutrition, exercise, and overall well-being, both of these web sites are full of helpful information and resources.
- FitDay.com is an online diet journal, where you can record your daily calorie intake and track your weight loss goals.
- MSN Money’s Personal Finance section is full of tools to help improve financial fitness and work toward savings and budget goals.