How to realise a New Year resolution

During the first week of January many of us are full of good intentions to keep our “New Year resolutions”. Aspirations usually begin with lose weight, get fit, quit drinking/ smoking/ the internet, read more books, have better money management, be a better person; these all are based on bad habits and a desire for self-improvement. But by now many will have abandoned our resolve and given up by today. Polls show that only 8% realise their resolutions but it seems we are more likely to enjoy success if we make our objective less fanciful and more achievable, this can be done by making small but incremental goals. Without a measurable plan the objective soon becomes an overwhelming impossibility.
Professor Wiseman from the British National Health Service has some recommendations: Think about your resolution in advance, avoid any past failed resolutions (that might result in another disappointment) and make only one that is the most important to achieve. Break up your resolution into time based measurable steps and tell everyone so you get the support necessary. Constantly remember why you are doing this and how your life will be improved at the end of it. Perhaps a record of your progress would be motivating and do forgive yourself the occasional slip-up, instead give yourself small rewards as an acknowledgement you are tracking in the right direction.
Two small tips from this reporter that have helped are, if you do not buy it or have it in the home you cannot eat or drink it. Finally even one beer or glass of wine will evaporate all willpower and will result in self-reprobation and make any resolution harder to pick up.

RIP David Bowie
Great Britain, Europe and the wider western world are mourning Ziggy Stardust and all the other avatars of the inimitable David Bowie. The uberstar who made acceptable and mainstream, what was at the time considered strange.  Just like when Elvis Presley and John Lennon died several generations reflect on the personal impact he had on their lives. Twitter and Facebook were flooded with condolences and images. In memoriam devoted fans painted Bowie’s Aladdin Sane lighting flash across their own and even their dogs faces.