How to Stick to Your New Year's Resolutions

New Year's resolutions can be both troublesome and rewarding. Many
people make them, but few make a real committment to them. Before
you put the champagne on ice, spend some time pondering exactly
what you hope to achieve in the year ahead and how you plan to do it.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Be very specific about your resolution. Don't say: "I want to lose weight." Do say: "I want to lose 5 pounds a month so that I look hot in my new swimsuit on the fourth of July." Make realistic, measurable goals and write them down.

2. Limit the number of resolutions you make. It's better to do one thing well than several things poorly (or not at all).

3. Post your list in a visible place to serve as a reminder and encouragement to yourself. It will also allow other people to see your resolutions and provide support. If you want to keep your resolutions private, record them in a journal.

4. Enlist the support of your friends and family. If you're lucky, they'll have similar goals and you can work on your resolutions together. Encourage people to be helpful and supportive.

5. Take action immediately. Make important appointments with a doctor, dietitian or counselor. Sign up for a gym membership or buy any equipment you need.

6. Practice new behaviors that encourage success. If you want to stop smoking, don't hang out in smoke-filled bars or casinos. If you want to lose weight, don't bring desserts, junk food, candy or ice cream into the house. Limit your exposure to people who are likely to encourage resolution-breaking. There's a reason parolees aren't allowed to hang out with known criminals--they're a bad influence. Surround yourself with good ones.

7. Set incremental goals and reward yourself for partial successes. If you're working on saving more of your income, for example, reward yourself with a small splurge at each significant step. Each time you squirrel away another $1,000, take yourself to a favorite restaurant or get a massage.

8. Substitute a good habit for the bad one you want to break. If your goal is to eat less junk food, find a healthy food you love. If you want to spend more time with your family, establish a special time during the week when everyone is together.

Tips & Warnings

• Visualize success. Create a mental picture of the new, improved you. Focus on this image when you're tempted to blow off your goal.
• Stay positive. If you slip up one month, just let it go and get back on track.

[MidniteWriter]

on 12/15/2007 These are great steps anyone can follow and I like the specific details. Ask for God's help with all of this and you will find success. Thank you!

[jlbclund]

on 12/12/2006 You should check out www.10MillionResolutions.com for a bunch a free guides on how to stick with & be successful at New Years Resolutions.

[jlbclund]

on 12/12/2006 You should check out www.10MillionResolutions.com for a bunch a free guides on how to stick with & be successful at New Years Resolutions.

on 1/25/2006 I find that goals are better than resolutions. You can break a resolution, but a goal is still a goal.

on 1/25/2006 Psychological studies of successful behavior change observe four phases in a cycle. If you understand these four phases you can more successfully enact change in your own behavior. Relapse is almost always a part of the process, but returning to the other phases of the cycle after relapse helps ensure ultimate success.

The four phases are: contemplation, preparation, action and maintenance.

Contemplation is thinking about the goal of change, having the idea of change and thinking of the reasons which support that change, visualizing the change and considering when and how to change. If you enlist support at this stage, you can let your supporters know that you need help thinking about how to make this happen, not just lectures or demands that you do what you are thinking about. A comment like "I notice you smoke more on weekends or when you are alone," for example, could help you make a successful change whereas "you'd better really quit this time or else you're going to get lung cancer," only reinforces negatives and suggests an expectation of failure.

Preparation: is when the path to change is cleared for action. Emptying the house of junk food for dieters, and joining the gym or researching a gym at the right location. Making the job of change easier for yourself in the next step, that is the preparation process. There is no need to rush this process. You might prepare for a month and if that means you relapse less when you take action that is worth the time.

Action: set a date for action and then take the action you have been preparing for - by now action should be something you are mentally ready for and even enjoy.

Maintenance: this is the stage where failure is most common, but it is important to get right back in to the cycle when you fail. For example, if you miss a trip to the gym, go back at the next planned date, don't try to make up. If the next planned day is not until the next week, use the time in between to prepare again. Buy a new pair of sweatpants or a sports drink you can have while you are working out, make the path back to action even easier to take.

If you find your maintenance has derailed badly - your gym membership lapsed because you failed to pay it this month and it has been three weeks since you went, go back to contemplation - seek the cause of your failure (poor planning? poor execution? feelings of negativity? lack of social support?) and go back into preparation with a new plan of action that takes into account why you failed. If you failed because you were not able to get yourself to go by yourself, join the gym that your most active friend belongs, even if it is farther away. Make a plan to coincide with her schedule. Even if you don't do the same workout you can chat before and get a snack together afterward. Take your new plan into action without shame - relapse is only a part of the normal cycle, not any indication that you will fail.