“To be kind & to be calm” Carmel, 68

After a relaxing time with your loved ones over the x-mas break, you can go back to the driving seat of your life and plan which roads need to be taken to reach your chosen destinations. Picking a destination is not an easy task as there are so many options and so little time. For those of you who wish to make an act of self-improvement and take the time to reflect upon the previous year, here are 5 tips we gathered to help you see your resolutions succeed:

• Be specific about your goals. Think about the steps you need to take in order to reach your goals and create your road map that will take you there.
• Have realistic goals – choose goals that are doable. While you might wish to be challenged, you don’t want to be disheartened by the difficulty of your goals.
• Share your goals with others. Create an advisory panel for support and guidance. Choose people that you will feel comfortable to be judged by but also to get a hug from.
• No matter what, stay positive and don’t give up! Things take time, sometimes you will go one step forward and two steps backwards, accept it and know that determination and persistence will get you far, even if you take small steps.
• Reward yourself along the way. Don’t wait for the cheering at the end of the race, make sure small progress is celebrated and acknowledged.

In case you need a bit of inspiration, we asked some locals about their resolutions for 2014. We would love to hear about yours.

“To talk with new people” Pamela, 63

“Stay happy”. Craig, 66 “Get fit” shouts the wife in the background.