6. Realistic and Measurable It's a whole lot more inspiring to achieve a goal and set a new one then to fail again because you've set bar too high. Don't say you'll get to gym every day if you know that's next to impossible. Start smaller-- I'll get to gym three times a week for a month. I'll walk in door and get a locker. Every day for a month I'll set aside time to do my Artist's Way morning pages and I'll reward myself if I do five days out of seven. Then keep track. Count them. Put a gold star on your calendar. Make a grid and put check marks. At end of time period stop and evaluate? If you've set realistic goals and measured them you'll have a sense of accomplishment and valuable information about how to maintain your success or make any necessary adjustments to your plan.

Don't just put another paving stone on that road to hell. Turn those good intentions into accomplishments in new year. On behalf of your downstream self we thank you.

Liz Sumner, M.A. is a Life Coach who specializes in care of the Self with a capital S. For a free 30-minute call to clarify what you truly want contact easumner@monad.net or visit www.WonderfulCoach.com.

Regardless of what we believe to be at root of this constant wanting, it seems to take conscious and deliberate effort to experience contentment or satisfaction in our lives — to fully appreciate life, people, and activities we engage in. And, this doesn't mean appreciating things that are hurtful, wrong, or violent, because that would reflect not fully appreciating ourselves or other people.

Instead, it means taking a new look at ourselves, life, and world around us and seeing beauty that is there. It doesn't mean ignoring what isn't right, like violence in our and other countries, but it also doesn't mean denying good we do see.

It means getting in touch with awe of a child who see magic in everything, who notices simplest of things and takes great pleasure in them. It means appreciating and valuing yourself, people you know, what you've done, and what you are doing. It means slowing down and savouring every moment, or as many moments as possible rather than hurrying along to next task.

By noticing more, and by appreciating what is good in their lives (like glass full of fresh clean water), many people find that they begin to feel more content — they find what they were searching for all along.