I'm not a big fan of new year resolutions.  While I do think it is a good idea to set goals and a timeframe within which to achieve them, I personally have always had a hard time sticking to a new year resolution for more than a week or two. It is usually at this point that I give up and feel like I've let myself down - not a great way to feel at the start of the year. I think part of the problem is the way we think about the commitment. I tend to fall into the trap of telling myself that I should be sticking to this or that resolution, which then makes me feel guilty if I fail to follow through. I sometimes wish that the word 'should' could be removed from the English language. It has such a powerful influence over the way we feel. When we tell ourselves that we should be doing this or that, we place such an inordinate amount of pressure on ourselves. Try to pay attention to your thoughts and notice if the word 'should' is part of them. If so, try to replace it with a less judgmental term. Instead of "I should go to the gym today," how about "it would be great to go to the gym today, but if I can't make it today, I'll try to go tomorrow." Or instead of "I should get to work earlier," how about "it would be nice to get to work earlier if I can." Such small changes can really affect the way we view ourselves. Instead of guilt-tripping or shaming ourselves, we allow ourselves to be human.