We here at UMassFive like focusing on New Year's resolutions because, whether they are stuck to or not, we feel that they teach us something about ourselves. This annual reflection period is one of the few times many of us challenge ourselves to improve in such ambitious ways.
Personally, I've found that sometimes the easiest resolutions for me to keep are the ones that are small but meaningful. When I was a teenager, I remember resolving to be nicer to my sister. Lo and behold, by the end of the year, my sister and I had a much better relationship. I wasn't trying to climb the highest mountain or completely transform my life. Still, that one small goal had a profound impact on my life (and probably didn't hurt my sister either).
The nice thing about actually staying true to that resolution is that it made me feel more confident that I could achieve other goals. After all, as a sixteen year old, if I could be nice to my sister, what else was I capable of? The world was my oyster, and I gained confidence that, no matter when I set my mind to accomplish a goal, I could in fact accomplish it. This has even helped me in budgeting, where accomplishing small things like saving $20 every pay check became good reachable goals and gave me a foundation to build on.
Can you remember your most succesful resolutions? What about this year's resolution? Don't be shy, share them here. They don't have to be about money, but they certainly can be!
