The time for making resolutions for the new year is almost at hand. I’ve been giving the act of making resolutions a lot of thought lately. It seems to me that people tend to make grandiose and unattainable goals for themselves, only to suffer disappointment at their failure to meet their objective. That’s not the way I want to live.

In my mind, making a new years resolution is a good thing, if done in the proper context. Short-term goals (as I consider these) should be realistic. Saying that you will lose fifty pounds is unrealistic. Saying that you will drastically change your life is unrealistic. They can be accomplished, but not in the short-term.

I’m all about setting goals for myself. I do it all the time. I don’t always succeed in them, but I never give up on them. I try to make them as realistic as possible. For example, the goal I set for myself in the middle of last year was to have two short stories in circulation. I managed to submit one story, and I have a second that is close, but not quite ready. I partially achieved my goal, and I’m satisfied with that, because I made a consistent effort.

This next year will be more of the same. Writing is at the top of my list. On January first I will reset my yearly story statistics, and begin anew. With that fresh start, I will keep writing and submitting stories, not looking back at the previous year’s successes and failures. Life is about looking forward, not backward.