I’m not a fan of New Year’s Resolutions.

They have a tendency to be over ambitious, over complicated and, above all, a little forced.

I believe we do our best work and make our most important life changes when we’re ready, not when a calendar tells us it’s January 1^st.

Perhaps we learn a life lesson, or reach a natural fork in the road. Maybe as a student we are finally ready to learn something new and our teacher appears.

There is one type of New Year’s Resolution I love, however. This idea has been kicking around for a while and those who truly commit to it find it works a whole lot better than a list of detailed action steps with multi-level deadlines.

I didn’t come up with this, and I don’t know who did, so I’m not able to credit anyone. But I will be following it this year, and maybe you should too.

Pick a word. Just one word. That’s what you’re going to do this year. It’s not the only thing you’re going to do, but it is the thing you’ve identified as being top priority for you. It can be a noun, but I prefer a verb. It can be something you want to be, but I prefer to pick something I’m going to do. Then I can make sure I do it. Every, single, day. In big ways or small.

I’m not going to try and influence you in any way. You need to pick your own word. But if nothing comes to you straight away, here are a few suggestions.