Make this your year! Share your tips for making those resolutions a reality.

iStockphoto / Brian A Jackson

"Vision without action is merely a dream.
Action without vision just passes the time.
Vision with action can change the world"

--Joel A. Barker

This is it. 2014. The year I vow to lose 25 pounds (okay, maybe only 20). It's the year I'll learn to knit. Sew that cute vintage apron I've been planning to make. Spend more time in my garden. Learn to can apples (correctly this time). Then go on to fill my pantry with gorgeous jars of other canned food. My list of resolutions goes on and on. Can you relate?

Come the new year, I'm bubbling with inspiration and good intentions. But turning those desires into a reality isn't easy. What's the secret? How do you move from simply wanting something--a new body, a new skill, or whatever--to actually possessing it? I bet you have a tip or two. I hope you'll share your tips at the end of this post. Here's my list of four tips to get the ball rolling: 

1. Picture it. When it comes to the weight I want to lose, I pull out these two photos. One is of me at my goal weight, the other is of when I weighed the absolute most I ever have in my life. The first photo reminds me I've done it before, so I can do it again. The other says: Get serious or else! I pin both pictures up where I can see them everyday. (I'm not the only one whose weight fluctuates am I)?

2. Imagine the benefits to come. Today my jeans feel tight. But I refuse to buy a new pair! The discomfort makes me see food with different eyes: Do you really want to eat that plate of cookies? No? I didn't think so. Instead, I let myself think of how good it will feel to get back down to a weight that makes me feel at ease again.   

3. Set realistic goals. If I set my expectations too high, I set myself up to fail. Let's get real. I may learn to can apples, and possibly pickles, but I shouldn't expect to fill my whole pantry with an array of canned food in the same year I'm just learning to can for the first time. Save something for next year. I don't have to be super-girl, after all.

4. Remember, every day is the beginning of a new year. This is a good one come spring, when the hype of January 1st wears away. When I wake up feeling I've failed, I can remind myself today's a new beginning. Start over. Keep moving forward.

What about you? How will you make this your year? I'd love to hear your tips in the comments below.

Joy--Fearless Farm Girl,

"Farm girl: it's a verb, because it's what you do."