Some Resolutions for the New Year, or Just for Today

New Year's resolutions are kind of irresistible, aren't they? The idea that, with the proper resolve, you can make a major difference in your life. All it takes is a new day, a new year, a catchy turn of phrase, a little shopping spree of organizational items to get you started (okay, maybe that's just me). If you're up for that kind of promise-making, I've got a list of 31 Realistic Resolutions you'll want to take a look at, each with articles and recommended books to help you reach your goals.

If that's too much of a commitment, though, consider these five mini-resolutions. See if you can do them every day. Or one every day. Or a different one each weekday. Or any one, one today at a time. Sometimes the best progress is made with the littlest steps.

1. Read something that inspires you. Some sources: Love Notes for Special Parents, my blog, other featured blog posts, and Today's News and Views.
2. Say something nice to your child. Try the technique for catching your child being good from the book Transforming the Difficult Child.
3. Say something nice to yourself. Catch yourself being good, too. An excerpt from When the Labels Don't Fit has some fun ideas on how to do that.
4. Say something nice to someone else. On the Web, it's so easy to judge and criticize and snark, getting angry at people you don't know and will never meet. But those hard feelings do nobody any good. Try making one positive post a day -- my blog comments, forum, and Readers Respond pages are always open.
5. Laugh a little. Goodness knows, we need it. Check my humor category and fun things to do for smile material.

Happy new year to all!

This post is my contribution to the All About Parenting Blog Carnival on New Year's Resolutions.

_{Photo by Brian Harkin/Getty Images}