Resolved . . .

Every year when January 1 comes around, people everywhere consider whether or not to make resolutions. I used to; I don't anymore.

That doesn't mean I don't have goals and plans, but I consider those a little differently. In my definition, a resolution is something I'm not doing, haven't done lately, and probably will never do, but I resolve to do it anyway because it seems like I probably should. (I've discovered that peer pressure isn't just for kids.)  I hope I've outgrown that behavior.

On the other hand, goals and plans are usually projects I already have in the works which I intend to expand or continue, projects I want to do. For instance, last year I made a goal to write all four books in the new "Seasons of Destiny" series. I met that goal, along with two short novellas, one of which (A Monumental Love, from the Timeless Romance series) has been in publication since last spring. Of the six books I wrote last year, four are now available and a fifth will be out by mid-February. The sixth is part of a contest and won't appear for a while, but its time will come. Goals and plans like these are easy to fulfill because they are already in the works and because I enjoy them.

Once in a great while, I even manage to do one of those tasks I don't particularly want or love to do, but know I should. This past year I managed to exercise more. In the coming year, I hope to do even better, although I admit right up front that exercise is not my favorite pastime. I guess I can call that a resolution . . . do you think?

How about you? Do you make resolutions because you know you "ought to"? Do you see those differently from goals and plans?