I broke my New Year resolution yesterday (1st of January). I’ve made one resolution this year which is to get more exercise in whatever way I can. Maybe a bit more walking, a bit more cycling, ideally some squash, tennis and maybe even dancing lessons. I don’t mind but I know I need to move more. So what did I do yesterday? Naff all. Flopped in front of the telly, pulled the duvet around me and decided I’d go out ‘later’. In the end, the only exercise I got was nipping down to the post box to post my thank-you cards. Great.

The intention is still there, though, and there are 365 more days to go (it’s a leap-year…ooh must propose to someone…not sure who) so each day offers a new opportunity to put that resolution into effect. I learnt years ago when I was doing a lot of stand-up comedy in London clubs that it’s no good berating yourself or giving up if you fail. I distinctly remember one particularly bad gig (they don’t call it ‘dying’ on stage for nothing) when I decided I was just no good and should give it all up as a bad job. I rang my excellent friend Della – a very wise woman – who said “look, everyone fails, it’s the people who pick themselves up, dust themselves down and keep pushing on who succeed in the end. Just keep going.”

And it’s so true – everyone does fail, all the time, at big things and little things, but we can’t stop there, nor can we be put off by a few failures. January’s a nasty time to start new things like exercise and giving things up anyway. It’s cold, dark and tough so it’s quite likely that you will be weak and go back to the things you wanted to give up. But so what? Tomorrow’s another day and you can keep starting anew each day. By persisting you will find that gradually you will change the bad habit to a good one.

It’s certainly the case with spending and getting on top of your finances (that’s definitely a popular New Year’s Res after losing weight and giving up smoking). You start off with great intentions and then it all looks too daunting or you’re feeling so low with the grey skies that you have to go out and buy something. Don’t beat yourself up if that’s the case. Just start with a few small things. Check out our article on 7 Easy Ways to Make Quick Cash and put the extra money into paying off your Christmas credit card bills. Another day you can just decide to switch your gas and electricity. Later on you can have a go at your credit cards. Then, when you’re feeling really confident, you could spend an evening learning how to get rich on half a day a year.

When you’ve got another evening free you could put your unwanted Christmas presents and other things you don’t need on eBay and make some money there. As Anna2007 pointed out in her comment on my last blog, around 50% of Christmas presents aren’t wanted, so there’s a goodly amount of cash that could be made by everyone there!

It’s just a question of a bit here and a bit there. It doesn’t have to be done all at once. Slow and steady is the way to do it – as it is with so much in life – and don’t be discouraged. So you fail and fail and fail. So what? Just keep picking yourself up – it’s the ones who persist who get there in the end.