2010 is the year of no excuses:
make keeping resolutions your resolution!
By Melissa Ward

New Year’s resolutions can help start the year off right, or can be like waking up on the wrong side of the bed come January 1. Despite a love-hate relationship, we make resolutions because the start of the calendar is a time to evaluate ourselves. And as humans, we are wired to want something better, different or newer.
Losing weight and nixing vices like drinking and smoking are probably the most common resolutions, but the bane of potential failure are not these hard-dying habits- it’s the lack of forethought. Oftentimes, we declare resolutions on a whim or resolve something because everyone else is doing it. Nathan Gold, 24, of Manayunk is one of those people. “I used to make resolutions because I thought that’s what you were supposed to do, but as time went on and I got older I never kept them.” Dr. Hilda Dubin, clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Maryland says that “a resolution needs to be meaningful, otherwise you won’t do it.” The bottom line: you must truly welcome change and refrain from making resolutions flippantly.
“It’s important to set resolutions because it moves us through the process of change; you’re either moving forward or moving backwards,” says Alan Goff, author of the inspiring book Life Patch and motivational speaker for Achieving Goals, Inc. “Resolutions are a propellant tool and a person without something to strive for may become despondent. If the idea of moving in the forward continuum is intimidating, it shouldn’t be: everyone needs to find a plan that personally works for him or her.”

Resolution-Making No-No’s
“Instead of motivation preceding action, action should precede motivation,” says Dubin, so get started now rather than wait for 100 percent motivation to carry out a resolution. According to Goff, less than 3 percent of the goals people set for themselves are ever actually achieved, so don’t set goals based on what you already know or attempted or think you can do. Setting goals that you’ve tried before is not exciting, and Goff suggests that resolutions should be new to keep motivation up. Given said goal a shot before? Ask why you want the change, which will then help give a sense of purpose that’s essential for triumph. Resolutions made on conditions that are out of your hands are a definite no-no: you have no control over success if goals are based on what you think may happen.

Resolve to Succeed
Keeping resolutions is a time-tested task that can be made easier with the right game plan: think goals through, write them down and categorize from most important to least. Next, break objectives down into measurable steps, for example instead of working to lose 15 pounds in 2 months, reach for one pound a week. Making a resolution boils down to old-fashioned decision-making and Goff reminds us that all you need to do is make a decision and manage it.
Half the battle is staying on track and luckily, there are endless strategies to help stay on course. Philadelphia restaurant critic and cookbook author, Joy Manning creates a vision board with images that represent goals for a visual reminder. Less elaborate cues like taping written resolutions on a wall or setting a phone reminder will get the job done too. Goff recommends writing goals on a laminated card, small enough to fit in your pocket so you’ll always feel it when you sit, creating an automatic reminder. Need more than a piece of paper? We’re really good about tricking ourselves and justifying failure, but also hate to let others down, so enlist a friend to be a resolution buddy for accountability. Brian Sipe of Conshohocken says he has never kept a resolution but knows in order to succeed he needs someone working towards the same goal.
Hard work needs to be evaluated and Goff encourages cutting the amount of time to achieve resolutions in half. Otherwise, it’s tempting to wait until the last second to get started. Remember not to be too hard on yourself, and if you lose track, it is okay to start over again tomorrow. Gold learned, “if you’re not so strict about resolutions and you give yourself some room to mess up, it’s easier.”