Achieving Your New Year's Travel Resolutions

Success is in the Planning

Turning over a new leaf, resolving to do better... our New Year's resolutions are a time-honored tradition. The turning of a new year brings with it hope, and a desire to start anew. So what, pray tell, will you do?

If you are an avid traveler like I am you will have some travel goals for the upcoming year. Here are some great ideas for making your travel resolutions stick. So, before you take pen to paper or keyboard to computer, think about what might be realistic, achievable and possible for you.

1. Write down your travel resolutions, think about them for a day, and revise them to make sure they are what you really want to do. Is this the right year to take that trip to walk the Skywalk at Grand Canyon West or do you want to wait until the access road is improved?

2. Pare down your list to one or two achievable resolutions. It may not be a good year to stop smoking, loose weight AND plan that mule tripinto the Grand Canyon. A resolution list like that might be a set-up for failure.

3. Share your travel goals with someone. It is easy to slip away from your goals when no one else is following your plans. Make sure this is someone who cares about you and will be supportive or someone who wants to go on the same trip or tour with you.

4. Consider professional advice. If you want to quit smoking before your bus tour of the National Parks, for example, consult your physician to find out the latest information on successful smoking cessation programs. Ensure that your plan will work well with your current medications and health conditions.

5. Ensure that you have realistic goals. Taking a Rim to Rim Grand Canyon Hike in 2009 might not be realistic if you have yet to start a walking program. How about a commitment to walk around the block daily, then in a month, increasing that walk to a mile and, in 6 months, tackling a flat 5 mile trail in a State Park. You can do it!

6. Pace yourself. Break down your overwhelming big goal into tiny baby steps. If you want to loose all that weight before your big trip, begin by researching weight loss strategies (Step 1), then progress to choosing one and signing up (Step 2), then, once you are involved, set your weight loss goal and timeline (Step 3).

The main point to remember is to be reasonable. Achieving your New Year's resolutions can be as simple as taking time to think out your strategy and plan for your success.