The most important part of making New Year's resolutions is assigning yourself a coach (translation: watchdog) to help you stay on track. So before you commit to anything, decide which person, someone at home or at work, you can trust to tell you the truth, and then ask that person to sign on as your Resolutions Coach. If you decide to make it reciprocal, the chances of your resolutions being alive by Valentine's Day is even greater!

Here's another fact about resolutions -- psychologists say that you can break a bad habit or grow a new, positive one if you stick with it for just 21 days. So promise yourself (and your coach) that no matter what, you'll stick with these items for three weeks. After that, you can probably be mostly on automatic pilot, with just an occasional nudge from your coach.

So here goes:

I PROMISE THAT I WILL PREPARE FOR CAREER SUCCESS IN THE 21ST CENTURY BY DOING THESE FIVE THINGS EVERY DAY:

1. When something goes right, I'll take unqualified credit; when I goof, I'll answer for it openly without feeling ashamed or diminished.

2. I will learn something new every day and figure out how to apply it to be even better at my work.

3. I will begin each day by programming into that day three things that will bring me real pleasure, before, during, or after work.

4. I will be sure that I LISTEN attentively more than I TALK each day, no matter what line of work or position I'm in.

5. I will give honest feedback to people as an essential part of how I do my job, emphasizing the positive as much as possible.

Try these five simple strategies for three weeks, and you'll never give up the good feelings that come from being honest, self-appreciating, connected to others, and generally "on track" in your life. Happy New Year-1999 is going to be a very good year for supercharging you and your career!