I asked a waitress yesterday what her New Year’s resolution was, and she said, “Oh, I don’t make them anymore. I just end up breaking them, so what’s the point?”

Wow, that’s like giving up. The good news is, as human beings, we can do things differently any time we choose.

Our past doesn’t need to predict our future unless we let it.

Just because we haven’t kept resolutions in the past doesn’t mean we can’t keep them this time.

The secret is to tell ourselves a NEW story.

As Brené Brown says, “I choose how the story ends.” We also choose how the story starts.

All we have to do is get crystal clear on what we want and hold ourselves accountable for it.

So, here’s the question. What do you want?

And don’t give me all the reasons you can’t have it or do it. Just tell me what you want. Now, what’s one little tiny step you could take to move that forward? One little tiny step you could do this week?

Now, write that out and post it somewhere you’ll see it. On your refrigerator, nightstand or desk. Keep it in-sight, in-mind so it stays top of mind.

And then select a quote from one of these to remind yourself you can have a fresh start anytime you please. May this year be the start of something good for you.

1. “What is not started today is never finished tomorrow.” – Goethe

2. “Never say anything to yourself you don’t want to come true.” – Brian Tracy

3. “If you’re brave enough to say good-bye, life will reward you with a new hello.” – Paulo Coelho

4. “We become what we believe.” – Oprah Winfrey

5. “Change before you have to.” – Jack Welch

6. “Tomorrow is another day. But so was yesterday.” – Rene Ricard

7. “The future is already here and we’re already late.” – John Legend

8. “You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing we call ‘failure’ is not the falling down, but the staying down.” – Mary Pickford

9. “Live out of your imagination, not your history.” – Stephen Covey

10. “My happiness depends on me, so you’re off the hook.” -Esther Hicks

11. “If you’ve made a decision and haven’t taken action, you really haven’t made a decision.” – Tony Robbins

12. “And suddenly you know it’s time to start something new and trust the magic of beginnings.” – Meister Ekhart

13. “Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change.” – Jim Rohn

14. “Life loves to be taken by the lapel and told, ‘I am with you, kid. Let’s go.’” – Maya Angelou

15. “You can’t start a new life chapter if you keep re-reading the last one.” sign in library

16. “May your choices be based on your hopes and not your fears.” Nelson Mandela

17. “The bad news is, time flies. The good news is, you’re the pilot.” – Michael Altshuler

18. “At the moment of truth, there are either reasons or results.” – Chuck Yeager

19. “Do you know the #1 precursor to change? A sense of urgency.” – John Kotter

20. “Tomorrow is the first blank page of a 365 page book. Write a good one.” – Brad Paisley

In case you’d like to do some additional reading on how to keep your promises to yourself, here are the two best articles I found on this topic.

* Ideas.TED.com – TED talks that with creative resolutions that can change your life for good. (Elizabeth Lesser’s “Take an Other to Lunch” is my favorite)

* New York Times – The Only Way to Keep Your Resolutions (with surprising science on why will power DOESN’T work – and what does)

And a final quote from the incomparable Anne Lamott on how to tell yourself a NEW STORY and IT’s motivate yourself to make the most of your days. It’s a long one and a good one. Wishing you a juicy year – and life.

“What if you wake up some day, and you’re 65 or 75, and you never got your novel written; or you didn’t go swimming in warm pools and oceans all those years because your thighs were jiggly and you had a nice big comfortable tummy; or you were just so strung out on perfectionism and people-pleasing you forgot to have a big juicy creative life of imagination and radical silliness and staring off into space like when you were a kid? It’s going to break your heart. Don’t let this happen.” – Anne Lamott

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Sam Horn, CEO of the Intrigue Agency, is on a mission to help people create the life and career of their dreams. Her TEDx talk and books Tongue Fu!, POP!, and Washington Post bestseller Got Your Attention? have been featured in NY Times, Forbes, INC, and presented to Capital One, Boeing, Intel, NASA, Nationwide, Cisco, YPO and Accenture.