Making progress in 2010

"My New Year Wish" Today's Straits Times Life section reported 10 newsmakers looking back at 2009 and telling their hopes for 2010.

Every January, a slew of resolutions are made. From losing weight to financial savings, to areas of relationships, career and spirituality.

Why is it that so many of us seem unable to transform resolutions into habits?

The thing is, you and I both know that 12 months ago, we were talking about practically the same issues. And next year, there will be more or less identical resolutions. Regardless of what areas of our lives we would like to transform, there is a gap between desire for change and actually creating real and sustainable change.

The truth is this: diets don't fail. We fail at diets. Savings plans don't fail. We fail at savings plans. relationships don't fail. We fail at relationships.

That's not because we want to fail. We don't go on diets to gain weight. We don't get married to get divorced.

I think it is because we focus too much on the desired outcome and not enough on the progress we are making. Last year, I focused on the progress I was making in the gym and those advances encouraged me to persevere in achieving my goal. In the past, it was when I lost sight of my progress that I became discouraged, and it was discouragement that landed me back into my old self-defeating habits.