In a few days millions of New Year's resolutions will be made. Most individuals who make resolutions choose a task that they've tried before with limited success. Some of the most popular are:

"I want to lose 20 pounds."

"I want to workout more."

"I want to spend more time with my wife and kids."

"I want to go to church more."

"I want to read more books this year."

"I want to get a promotion at work."

"I want to give more time or money to a charity."

There is something within the human soul that makes us resolve on New Year's Eve. I'm not sure if it's the alcohol or the feeling that another year is gone and your goals are not met, but we NEED to make resolutions. If you've lived long enough you see a definite progression to this whole thing.

January will be a rock solid month for those resolutions.

February will see your determination waver.

March will be filled with apathy about those goals.

By the time April starts most of your resolutions will be lost like change in the couch cushions. April Fool's Day arrives and you are ready to punch the first person that tries to prank you. All these broken resolutions breed frustration, poor self-esteem and disappointment. But the following year you try again like a shampoo commercial, lather, rinse, repeat. It's awful really. Until you can't stand the torment and you finally give up, embracing your inner skeptic in your resolution-less little world. Well I have a slightly different approach to New Year's resolutions, let me explain.

I believe in lowering your expectations! I made 3 resolutions in 2006 and kept all of them. Last year, I resolved to gain weight. So I shunned exercise whenever possible, ate plenty of chocolate and indulged in late night ice cream binges. After a year of this grueling regiment, I'm not disappointed or frustrated but 10 pounds heavier. Sure, my pants are tighter but it's one of the sacrifices that I made to meet my goal. The doctor said that tingling feeling going down my leg was because my pants were too tight. He also said something about my pants cutting off my circulation and stuff about losing weight…but I can't remember.

Another resolution that I made last year was to spend more money on foolish things. I can't even convey how splendidly I accomplished this goal. I bought things that have no value now and if I'm lucky they will never become a collectible item. There was this one "thing" on Ebay that I just had to have, I'm not sure what it was but I'm the proud owner. It wasn't easy though. There were a few times when my resolution to frivolously spend money almost interfered with my resolution to gain weight. I spent most of my lunch money on a watch at the carwash, but thank heaven for the "Value Menu".

My third goal was to spend more time reading comics. Again, no frustration here over missed goals. I read an average of 2 hours a week of comics. This one really took dedication, staying up late, turning off the television, and reading at stoplights. But with real commitment I made it happen.

Now it's your turn to lower your expectations and make a resolution. Don't feel like you need to mimic my resolutions, use your own judgment. Improving your video game scores by 20% is reasonable and attainable. Becoming obsessed with a new hobby is a sensible goal. Going to more company meeting for social interaction is a worthwhile resolution.

So don't let your resolutions get lost in the mists of forgotten memories. Remember the cardinal rule of resolutions, lower your expectations. As a friendly reminder, you should only have the gain weight resolution for a year unless you just really want to buy a new wardrobe, and then it's ok to go back to back.