We all have made New Year's resolutions about quitting some habit or beginning some beneficial course of action only to realize a little later on that our firm resolve has evaporated in the winds of time. For a resolve to change to "take," inside of us, we need to be direct, clear and honest with ourselves—do we really want to change and are we really willing to pay the price for change? Will the perceived value of the change be a great enough compensation for whatever work or effort or pain that will be involved in bringing the change about? If we've ever tried to quit intoxicants or cigarettes or cut down on food or change a long-standing relationship, we realize how much effort is involved. There is really no easy way to make this sort of fundamental change in our life, and we may just have to come to terms with what is involved in any serious change we are contemplating. The deeper we go in our self-understanding, the simpler, if not easier, the change will be for us. We can resolve to change some basic pattern that is no longer beneficial for us and stay firmly rooted in our resolve until we achieve our goal.