• Join a gym
• Lose 10 pounds
• Quit smoking
• Ease up on the drinking
• Stop yelling at the kids/spouse/ traffic and so on…

Another year, another list. If these look like your 2019 resolutions, you’re in good company. New Year’s Day is the time we vow to be better, healthier, stronger, thinner— whatever this year. Our lists seem to go on forever, as if the more resolutions we make, the better chance we have of actually sticking to them. Yet by February 1, we’ve caved to chocolate, written off that new gym membership, loosened our belts and dropped into despair of ever accomplishing our goals.

So how did this tradition of mental self-flagellation get started? Four thousand years ago the Babylonians made promises to their gods in mid March as they planted crops. Promises that included repaying their debts and returning things they had borrowed. If they succeeded, they gained the gods’ favor. If not—well, gods can be so nasty.

The Romans got into the act when Julius Caesar tinkered with the calendar and decreed January 1 to be the new year, 46 years before Christ. They offered sacrifices and promises of good conduct to Janus, the two-faced god who looked back to the previous year and forward into the future.

Early Christians got in the act, too. English clergyman John Wesley, who founded Methodism, created the Covenant Renewal Service, which was held on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day, using prayers and hymns to become better Christians.

Now the practice of making resolutions is mostly secular, with people making promises to themselves and focusing on self-improvement, with fewer than 10 percent succeeding at keeping even one, let alone dozens.

Talk about setting yourself up for a guilt trip! Instead of making an endless list of things that are guaranteed to disappoint, how about this? Each day ask yourself, “What is one thing I can do right now to make my life better?” For instance, if one of your resolutions was to corral clutter, your one thing might be “Just for today I will put the clean laundry away.” Maybe you vow to exercise more. “Just for today I will walk to the library instead of driving.” You want to be kinder? “Just for today I will not flip off that idiot who pulled out in front of me,” (as Wayne Dyer said, traffic doesn’t care).

The beauty of these one things is that you don’t have to commit to forever, or even the next month. Everyone can do one thing. This approach can also take you deeper into what you really want. Sure, mundane tasks have a place on the list, but if you take a few minutes to focus on the things that will make life better, you’ll gain clarity.

One Things don’t have to be all duty and have-tos. Maybe reading a book for an hour would create a sense of peace or wonder or relaxation today. You may find that learning a new skill or contacting an old friend or examining your spiritual practices makes your life better. Maybe there’s a habit or two that doesn’t serve you anymore and just for today you won’t bite your nails, pull out the credit card for a $3 purchase, or click on the Solitaire icon while you’re waiting for your favorite website to load.

One thing, 24 hours. Now that’s a resolution you can stick to.