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2013 goals via Shutterstock
it's never too late

Already broken your New Year's resolutions? Try these instead...

This public service announcement is for everyone whose 2013 plans haven’t gotten off to the best of starts…

SO, THE NEW Year’s resolution isn’t going too well.

It’s less than three weeks into 2013 and you are already getting sick of hearing from those who are still on the wagon (whatever their chosen wagon may be) and can no longer stand them looking down at you… sneering at you… throwing rotten fruit at you.

OK, all of this looking down, sneering and fruit related stuff is probably in your head.

If any of it isn’t, a good New Year’s resolution would be to get yourself a new set of friends.

For everyone else, your moment has not yet passed.

There are tons of things that have yet to start that will not only benefit you or somebody else, but will give everyone else the impression that you didn’t fail in your New Year’s resolution but were instead just waiting for your chosen one to begin.

Take that, world.

Fitness

While this could have started on 1 January, it didn’t necessarily have to. Why, you ask?

Well, what if your goal is to be fit enough to run a race that isn’t for another three months.

Yup, all of a sudden your great fitness plans are back on track. In fact, you are most probably ahead of the curve.

The Spar Great Ireland Run for 2013 is set to take place on 14 April this year in Dublin’s Phoenix Park.

With three months to train, the 10km is well within reach and offers the opportunity to raise money for charity – otherwise known around these parts as a win win.

Volunteering

If you know you want to help people but have no idea where to start or how you want to do it, Volunteer Ireland should help get you started. With over 20 centres in Ireland, you can browse by location and/or category.

With different volunteering options being offered all the time, finding something that suits your existing schedule and that makes you feed good will make your New Year’s resolution even easier to maintain.

Learn something new

There is nothing in the rulebook (there is no rulebook) that says that someone else has to benefit from your New Year’s resolution.

Night courses are a great way to add an additional skill or formal qualification without disrupting things too much.

From languages to sports education – if you can think of something, chances are there’s a course that will help you achieve it.

For those who find themselves in Dublin this weekend, the ‘Which Course Expo‘ is running from 11am to 5pm on both Saturday and Sunday in Dublin’s Mansion House.

A holiday with a difference

Making holiday plans is never easy. It’s made even more difficult if money is tight.

For something with a (relatively) low-cost and high feelgood-factor, why not embark on a volunteering holiday.

Not only will it bring you to a country you may never have otherwise visited, but will help make a lasting difference.

Once such organisation is Voluntary Service International, who will be holding their Volunteer 2013 Info Event on 27 February in the Irish Aid Centre in Dublin.

Over to you

So there we have it. It’s never too late start again, and New Year’s resolutions are no exception.

What New Year’s resolutions have you made that haven’t kicked in yet? Let us (and your fellow readers) know in the comments.

Read: 8 New Year’s resolutions and 6 tips on sticking to them >

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