While the typical New Year’s resolution is abandoned somewhere around the long Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday weekend, there is a certain feeling of “anything’s possible” in the air during these first few weeks of January.  Now really can be a good time to set some goals.  Go ahead, think big.  If you don’t stretch yourself to do more, why bother?

Take a few pointers from weight-loss experts and put these strategies to work in your downtown to make your resolutions a reality:

Write it down – Make sure your goals are clear and quantitative.  Write them down so you can track your success.  It also makes it more real when you can see it on paper, or better yet, chart it on a graph.

Tell a friend – Make sure people know what you are going to do.  They can hold you accountable and keep you on track. They may even offer to help!

Make it reasonable – As it didn’t take two weeks to pack on an extra 25 lbs, the historic facades in your district weren’t all covered over in a matter of a few months.  Go ahead and challenge yourself, but don’t expect to have a completely rehabbed, fully occupied downtown by June, either. 

Pace yourself – As we age, it seems the years fly by, but in reality a year is a long time.  Break out your big goals into some chunks so you can have incremental success along the way.

Now, take the first VMS poll of the new year.