It’s the start of a new year. Many people will have made resolutions. Some will even stick with their promises to eat better, stop smoking, get in shape, or save money the entire year. (If that’s you, congratulations. Even if you make it into February — yeah, you!).

Photo from: http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20452233,00.html

Another time for big promises to ourselves is our birthday. It’s a second fresh start to the year. Our year. Not a calendar year. The year unique to us. Last year, I resolved to start this blog. This post marks three months in! Whoo-hoo.

I’m in favor of saying resolutions out loud. Telling everyone and asking them to keep you accountable. It’s something I tried with my #365novel project where I was writing a page a day.

Other advice, offered by a life coach on Huffington Post, is to be specific and resolve to do something that is achievable.

The American Psychological Association suggests starting small and being kind to yourself along the way if you falter in keeping to your resolution.

The most surprising tip I came across? Drink OJ. Or lemonade. According to WebMD’s tips, exercising self control depletes our blood-glucose level! Perhaps my aversion to OJ is why I have so little self-control?

Image from: healthyconfidentyou.com

What birthday resolutions have you made in the past? What has helped you to stick with them? Please share!