Welcome to the Get Fit Guys' quick and dirty tips to slim down and shape up.

My name is Ben Greenfield, and I'm the Get Fit Guy.

About this same time last year, I filled you in on the top six New Year's resolution mistakes.

These mistakes included not quantifying your goals, not setting dates

or benchmarks, setting too many goals, not tracking or logging, not sharing and not expecting

setbacks. That's a lot of knots. You can check out that episode for more detail on each of these

mistakes that could be keeping you from achieving

your fitness goals. But this year, let's focus on the positive, shall we? Rather than discovering

the things you shouldn't do while pursuing your New Year's resolutions, let's discover the six

things that are, in my opinion, absolutely essential for success. So, one is journaling. Journaling is a newfound

joy of mine. I wake up every morning, roll over in bed, and open my journal, which is called a

five-minute journal, which I believe you can get from five-minute journal.com. I read one

inspiring quote, then give three answers to the following question.

What would make today great? Finally, I write down my daily affirmation, which for me right now is

I am inspiring, a joy to be around, and a patient teacher. Later in the evening, I reopen the journal

and answer the following questions.

What three amazing things happen today, and how could you have made today better?

Now, this may sound silly, airy-fairy, or woo-woo, but this morning-slash-evening practice

has kept me laser-focused on my goals and on what I want to

accomplish each day. My only regret is not beginning a daily journaling practice earlier in life.

Tip number two is planning. Now unless you write down your plan for achieving your resolution,

it's just not going to happen. I personally use a software program called Evernote to write down my calendar for

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