New Year's Resolutions

by Vivienne Lorret

I’m a person who likes to make resolutions. Each New Year, I write them down and number them. Once, I even alphabetized them.

Not to toot my own horn, but I’m a very dedicated January-resolutionarian.

By February, the list has suffered a few modifications, nips and tucks here and there. Maybe an entire year without chocolate wasn’t such a good idea, after all.

Yet, when March hits, major reconstruction happens. The list takes on a new form. Half of it turns into a grocery list.

Tea, milk, chocolate…

A new story idea-scribble climbs the right margin.

Rake meets spunky heroine—she kills his dog. Hmm…

Origami becomes an option.

In April… Well, we won’t talk about April.

But that was before I learned how to dream big, and still reach my goals.

It happened when I started to write down the things I was planning to do anyway. Changing the words Lose twenty pounds to Eat healthier, smaller portions works much better.

Check!

Altering the words Write six books this year to Write every day.

Check!

And then adding things like Drink more tea and Smile more are not only easy, but a worthwhile investment in myself. Because, as you might have figured out, Smile more is also code for Go ahead and eat chocolate.

Happy New Year!

_{~USA TODAY bestselling author Vivienne Lorret loves romance novels, her pink laptop, her husband, and her two sons (not necessarily in that order ... but there are days). Transforming copious amounts of tea into words, she is proud to be an Avon Impulse author of works including: Tempting Mr. Weatherstone, The Wallflower Wedding Series, and The Rakes of Fallow Hall Series. For more on her upcoming novels, visit her at www.vivlorret.net}