A New You in 2009

Did you know more people make resolutions to start a new habit than to break an old habit? Whether it was to start or break a habit, chances are, that at some time in your life, you have made a New Year’s resolution – and then broken it. Here are 10 tips to help you start and commit to making your resolutions stick.

1. Get real! The quickest way to fail is to set yourself up for failure with unrealistic goals. Make certain the goals you set are challenging, but attainable. If your goal is to increase your fitness by adding an additional hour to your regime each week, try adding 10-minutes each week or an additional night to your current workout until you reach your goal.
2. Plan ahead! You should have started thinking about your goals in December so you could have a plan of attack ready.
3. Think it through! You know you will hit plateaus and challenges so decide early on how to handle them. If you are changing your diet, how will you handle eating out? What will you do during the holidays or at parties? Keep a list of answers such as calling a friend, practicing positive thinking and self-talk, or reminding yourself how far you have come.
4. Pros and cons! Make a list of the pros and cons of why you chose these resolutions to stay motivated
5. Tell the world! Don’t keep your resolutions a secret. Tell trusted friends so they can help you stay on target and be there when you are wavering. If you gave up smoking, call your friends and let them know when you are stressed and need the comfort of a cigarette.
6. Reward yourself! Yes, success deserves rewards, but don’t choose rewards that make a negative impact on your hard work. Celebrate your success with a new pair of jeans instead of chocolate cake for losing 10 pounds.
7. Become a tracker! Keep track of your progress. If your goal is losing 20 pounds, keep a chart with the ups and downs of losing. If your goal is less tangible, find a way to chart it. If your goal is to be nicer to your coworkers, plan to say two nice things each day to each person and track those comments.
8. Don’t focus on setbacks! Don’t go into this thinking you won’t have setbacks. (If it were that easy, you wouldn’t have to make a resolution.) If you fall off the wagon, don’t stay off; get back on it as soon as possible. If you missed a week of martial arts classes, don’t quit! Call your instructor and tell him or her you will be back for the next class. If you ate a slice of cake, don’t eat the whole cake. Get back on track with your healthy eating.
9. Stick with it! Experts say it takes about 21 days for something to become a habit and six months for it to become a part of your personality. It may be difficult at first, but soon it will be second nature!
10. Don’t give up! If you give up because you have fallen a few times, begin again. No one said you could only make resolutions in January!