What is the difference between goal setting and New Year's resolutions? Well, in a sense they are the same thing, but too often New Year's resolutions are nothing more than hopeful intentions. Imagine the scene as your family sits around the dinner table for New Year's dinner. Everyone is in a festive mood and excited about the New Year that lies ahead. There is something magical about starting a new year. It is like a second chance, a clean slate.

Whatever ailed us in the previous year we hope that in some way the New Year will be better. Armed with this optimism we are in a prime mood to commit ourselves to certain goals that usually relate to our betterment as people. It is interesting that most New Year's resolutions have little to do with work and money. I think this is because we have just spent the last week getting reconnected with things that matter most like our family, friends, and our own health. However the health part is often inspired by all of the overeating and chocolates we consumed during the previous three weeks.

Here are some of the most common New Year's Resolutions.

•    Spend more time with family

•    Stop Smoking

•    Get in shape

•    Lose weight

•    Enjoy life more

•    Quit drinking

•    Get out of debt

•    Learn something new

When you look at the list you will notice that all of these are higher order goals. They spring from our deepest values of some of the most important things in life. It is too bad that most of them are not going to happen. I don't mean to be a pessimist but research shows that 25% of people have abandoned their resolution after the first week. Three months later more than half have given up on their resolutions all together. This is really too bad because we are not talking about goals like buying a Mercedes, or making a million dollars. These are goals that make up the fabric of our lives. We cannot afford to mess these ones up.

If we really want to beat the odds there are a few things we have to keep in mind. One is that most of these goals involve lifestyle changes. These are tough because now we are talking about overcoming bad habits to create new ones. As the saying goes 'old habits die hard' the same is true here. If we want to experience success in these areas we need to understand just how tough this is going to be. Secondly we have to break these goals down into more measurable items. For example, the person who makes a resolution to spend more time with family, must decide exactly what that looks like and how are they going to do it. How will they know once they get there? Only by setting more specific, and measurable goals will they have a chance of succeeding. Thirdly, we want to make sure we are not in this alone. If you can find a partner who will help hold you accountable, you will have extra motivation and reason to stay focused and committed to the task.

As I said earlier, these are goals that we want to have a high success rate in. Many of them will help us be happier, live years longer, and make our world a better place to be.

Good Luck and Happy New Year.