Resolution solution: Make it fun

Embrace the bunny.

That may be the best way to keep your Big Plans for 2008 from being immediately gutted, according to M.J. Ryan, author of "This Year I Will," a primer on how to keep your resolutions. "The success rate," Ryan said of them, "is not good."

We'll get to the bunny. But first, a word from Ryan's pals in the medical community.

Cardiologists tell her of how they warn heart-attack patients to make life changes, or risk another attack — even death.

How many take heed?

"Less than 10 percent!" Ryan howled the other day. "And this is with a death sentence on the line."

Is it any wonder, then, that even the healthiest blokes can't stop eating cheese, or biting nails, or buying handbags?

"If people really wanted to, they would do it," Ryan said. "You need to have an external pressure pushing you along."

So what do people really want to do this year?

"Ballroom dancing," said Maria Woods, 50, of Tukwila.

With one child in college and the other in 12th grade, "I'm planning my second life."

Zach White, 23, has resolved to quit smoking.

"I'm going to try," he said. "Cold turkey."

(I rededicate myself to French lessons. Even the homework.)

The key to starting anything new, Ryan said, is to make it fun. Then it will appeal to your "bunny brain," which is the emotional part of your mind.

The bunny brain is in constant battle with the thinking cortex of your mind.

For example: The thinking cortex is the one you use to set the alarm to get up early to run. But when the alarm goes off, the bunny brain kicks in.

"It says, 'This isn't fun, this isn't easy,' " Ryan said. "So you have to make it as fun as possible and win the bunny over."

What's fun about 5:30 a.m.? Being healthy enough to be there for your kid; or learned enough to converse in a foreign country; or disciplined enough to have money in the bank.

To that end, these tips from Ryan: Schedule in your resolution, like you would any other appointment. Book it and do it.

Do it daily. The Dalai Lama once said that the secret to a healthy life can be found in one word: "Routine."

Monitor your behavior. Write down when you control your temper, or pass up a sale. Revel in your progress.

Focus on the horizon. Look at how far you've come, and not at how much farther you have to go. Above all, Ryan said, treat yourself kindly.

"Resolving to do better — and our capacity to do that — is one of our best qualities as human beings," she said.

Kirsten Varg, 23, is already well on her way. This year she will ... ?

"I really want to forgive myself more," she said. "Step back and see that what I might think is overwhelming is a tiny speck, in the grand scheme of things."

Varg is the director of the Girls on the Run program, which nurtures self-esteem through running. What kind of advice does Varg give her girls?

"Take it one step at a time," Varg said. "It doesn't matter if they run, walk or cartwheel, as long as they get there."

Here's to cartwheeling through the new year. But do wear something underneath.

Nicole Brodeur's column appears Tuesday and Friday. Reach her at 206-464-2334 or nbrodeur@seattletimes.com.

See you at Sgt. Mike's boot camp.