Just as most of us are familiar with making resolutions, most of us are also familiar with giving them up after just a few weeks or months.  It isn't that we really gave up or quit.  It just seems that the ideas and commitment that we had at the start of the year begins to fade over time.  Apparently, making real change in our lives is hard.  Ingrained habits tend to re-emerge after just a short time, and we're back where we began.  It isn't just you, just about everyone goes through this process at one time or another.

Well, there's good news.  Thousands of people have succeeded in creating and sustaining real change in their lives.  The key is to know why you want to succeed and how you're going to get there.  In short, it's about good goal-setting.

In the single-step.com website, we've worked hard to provide you with tons of information about goals, goal-setting, motivation, and your sub-conscious.  With the single-step software, we've integrated the website contents into an easy-to-use framework to help anyone set goals, plan their approach, and track their progress towards success.  It's all just a few clicks away...

You may also want to read further to learn more about learn the origins of the new year, resolutions, and how to start making a change in your life today.  Then, stop by our other pages to take a look at our goal-setting formula to help you make a resolution to change, regardless of the date!

The New Year

Most of our traditions have origins in the distant past, and New Year's resolutions are no exception.  Historians currently believe that New Year’s resolutions go back approximately 4000 years.  The Babylonians are credited with the starting the tradition by resolving to return borrowed farm equipment to the rightful owner in time for the new year.  Quite a stretch from our current resolutions of getting back in shape or finally keeping the garage clean!

Julius Caesar is credited with moving the date of the beginning of the New Year from the Vernal Equinox (Spring, on or about March 21st) to January 1st.  This is still considered the start of the new year in the Western world, but many other cultures have their own historic dates for the new year. 

The calendars of some cultures are based on the movement of the moon, while others are based on the position of the sun.  Some cultures base their calendar on qualities of both the sun and the moon. As a result, the New Year is celebrated differently around the world, and people do not necessarily share the same traditional beliefs.

Whatever your background, culture, or belief, at single-step we feel that any excuse to start working towards a goal or resolution is a good one.  In providing goal-setting information on this website, we hope to encourage people to take their dreams seriously and actively move forward to reaching them.  In releasing our goal-setting software, we are working to provide useful tools for others to put what they have learned about goals into practice on a daily basis.  Our software will help you define your goals, chart your path, and perform daily exercises that will move you towards your goal.  It will help you learn to recognize what motivates you and also become more aware of behaviors that are keeping you from reaching your resolution.

If you don't have daily access to a computer or if you are uncomfortable with computer software (though ours is very easy to use!), you can begin making resolutions with our goal-setting worksheet.

So, regardless of the time of year, take a step towards the life you desire!  If you're willing to commit publicly, please stop by our forum and tell the world about your new decision.  Get started on that resolution today!