When did the idea of ringing in the New Year become such a big deal? It turns out that it isn't just a modern American custom. The Babylonians celebrated the beginning of their new calendar 4,000 years ago with an 11-day festival in March, and ancient Egyptians marked the start of their new calendar during Egypt's annual flood.

In honor of the Roman god of beginnings, Janus, Roman empress Livia, who later became notorious for her murder of her spouse Caesar Augustus, had a temple built to Janus in around 46 B.C. It took some time for this notion to catch on, but Pope Gregory XIII resurrected it in 1582 with the Gregorian calendar

Many of us are still making that vow today. So, what's the secret to keeping it? It turns out that merely wanting to improve is not enough; you must be committed. One approach to ensure this is to tell others about your goal.

A popular method to publicize your objectives and aspirations via social media. What measures can you take to guarantee that when people check up on you, they have wonderful things to say?

Here's what the experts have to say:

• You should be realistic about your chances, because even if you do everything right, it's still possible to not achieve your goal
• Make a schedule. It's probably not the greatest moment to start planning for the following year on New Year's Eve.
• Make a list of everything that needs to be done 
• Reward Yourself. ... keep track of your progress.
• Enjoy the process!

We'd really enjoy hearing from some of our customers on this one! Do you guys make New Year's Resolutions, or do you consider them to be a waste of time? If you do make resolutions, does anyone keep track of them? What are some of your favorite methods for keeping yourself accountable? Let us know! New Year, new article every day.

We're working on a number of other HUGE projects around the farm for the upcoming year that we can't wait to share with you all. Stay tuned!

As always, thank you so much for your support!