It’s good you didn’t bother. Wouldn’t have worked out anyway. A massive waste.

Those New Year’s resolutions.

Yes, it’s February. Time to get on with life, with muddling.

Those goals, those hopes and dreams and aspirations: too much work. Too much effort.

Way too busy.

And who makes them, anyway?

Turns out the numbers are fairly grim.

Statistics show that less than half the population bothers to set goals for a New Year. (In the audiences I have polled this month, it’s less than 20%!) And by the beginning of February, nearly 80% of those who do have given up.

(So whether you set some goals… or didn’t, you’re in great company!)

Of course, as the research shows, the problem is that we’re socially conditioned to the status quo; to think small; to underestimate our abilities. And we’re comfortable, even in our discomfort.

Change rocks our boat. (Even little change can mess us up: try brushing your teeth tonight with your opposite hand.)

And other folks: they don’t like us to change. It’s unsettling. Disturbing. Threatening. When our “friends” and family react to our “audacity,” we retreat to safety so as not to lose our place.

And those big goals are, well, big; daunting; overwhelming; scary. Buoyed by holiday revelry, they may have seemed exciting. Plausible. Obtainable. Now they seem impossible.

Too, there is that evil lizard – the lizard of resistance. (I know him well. He hides under my bed.) The lizard says, not today, not now. It’s not the right time. Tomorrow will be better, safer, easier. Put it off to another day.

Well, I’ve some bad news for you. The only constant is change. Whether you like it or not. And you don’t have time. There may not be another day. Today is the only day you have. Today is the day. If you’re too old, too fat, too tired, too poor, too unprepared, tomorrow won’t be better. (In fact, you’ll likely be older, fatter, more tired, poorer and even more unprepared.)

(And, oh, by the way, how long will it take to finish that project you never start?)

But I’ve got some good news too. Resolutions aren’t limited to the New Year. Every day’s a new beginning. Filled with possibility and promise. So, today,

• Set a goal that really means something to you, that excites you, that jazzes you, that urges you up in the morning, that rocks your world.
• Break the goal down into small, incremental, manageable steps so you don’t get overwhelmed.
• Take a little step every day toward your goal; small consistent steps over time lead to magnificent outcomes.
• Surround yourself with positive, affirming people; fly with eagles; don’t hang with pigeons.
• Know that the evil lizard always lurks; acknowledge him and walk on by.
• Get a mentor, a coach, a partner, a fan. It makes a difference.

As Annie Dillard says, “how we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” We can spend them muddling, hanging in there, getting by. Or we can co-create our lives as masterpieces.

It’s really up to you. Unless it’s not worth the effort.

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.”

— Marianne Williamson