Happy New Year! It’s that time of year again – time to make those New Year’s resolutions. Once each year we give ourselves the opportunity for a clean slate, a chance to build a better self, a better life, a better community. It’s a testament to the power of positive thinking. Albert Einstein once said, “the world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.”

The idea of New Year’s resolutions dates back to the ancient Babylonians who formally resolved to pay their debts and return borrowed objects. The practice has evolved into the 21st century tradition of vowing to change ourselves and our bad habits, moving from the literal root to a more general sentiment. Rooted in a long history of promises and affirmations, resolutions now often involve common goals of eating healthier, exercising more, losing weight, ending bad habits and creating positive new ones, learning a something new, volunteering more and becoming more organized, to name a few.

Unfortunately, for most people New Year’s resolutions have a low success rate. In fact, a study by the University of Bristol’s Richard Wiseman in 2007, concluded that 88 pecent of its 3,000 test subjects failed to keep theirs. One common problem with resolutions that can tend to explain that is the human habit of trying to take on too much at one time, setting unrealistic goals and expectations and being too hard on ourselves when we fall short. That’s a common recipe for failure.

The best advice I have found is fairly simple. We should set small, attainable goals, take one day at a time, one week at a time, one pound at a time and set up a reliable support system to bolster us when we need encouragement. Most importantly, we must be patient because after all, it takes several weeks for something to become a habit. So don’t confuse a momentary set back with a permanent failure.

The same goes for larger, more philosophical goals, like making the world a better place. Once we start small and get ourselves under control, then we can branch out to the neighborhood and the community at large. Acts of kindness not only help those to whom they are directed but end up strengthening our own spirit as well.

It’s said that the longest journey begins with a single step. Well, a resolution begins as a destination of sorts, the beginning of journey. If you want to make sure of where you end up, you’ll take a good map, that game plan, with you and the determination to see it through. And I bet you can and you will make your destination if you do. Happy travels and the very best of luck to you in this New Year.

Joanna Bailey is the director of the Bay Minette Public Library. She can be reached at baileyvolumes@gmail.com