Ever so often I hear someone make a comment, "if I had my life to live over I would do this or I would do that". Well, for better or worse, none of us has our life to live over but what we do have are our lives now. Whether we are in perfect health, we are still blessed with our lives.

So what can we women do for this new year? We can identify the things we wish to achieve and explore our motivation. Will these things add to our happiness or our satisfaction? Will they provide benefit for someone else? Will we be proud to share these achievements with others?

Buy a good scale

If your goal for the new year is weight loss, invest in a good scale, evaluate your eating habits and set your goal to lose a pound or two per week. If you are overweight or obese, studies show that your extra weight could be shortening your life. If your weight is normal, buy that scale anyway because it is easier to avoid weight gain than to lose it. Why the scale? Studies have shown that regular weighing not only helps to keep off the weight but makes weight-loss efforts significantly more successful.

If your goal is to pursue higher education we have many colleges and universities in Jamaica, and there are numerous online courses.

Do your research and apply for a course. Not having your own computer is no excuse since our parish libraries all over the country have free computer access. Also, many organisations have funds to assist with education.

If you have not yet completed high school, you can contact the Jamaica Foundation for Lifelong Learning which offers many programmes which may help. Could this affect your life and health in other ways? The answer is yes. According to research, people with more education live longer and healthier lives.

Regular church attendance

If your goal is to attend church more regularly, enlist the help of your church-going friends. If you are wondering whether this will affect your health and life, the answer again is yes. Studies show that attending a religious service each week adds years to a person's life (especially women) and it improves mental health. There is also mounting evidence that this practice reduces stress.

Whatever your goal for this new year, pursue it passionately. Start from the get-go because if at the end of 2010, you are wishing for a 'do-over', chances are there will be no one to blame but yourself.

Dr Monique Rainford is a consulting obstetrician and gynaecologist; email: yourhealth@gleanerjm.com.

Whatever your goal for this New Year, pursue it passionately. Start from the get-go because if at the end of 2010 you are wishing for a 'do over' chances are there will be no one to blame but yourself.