As we enter the weekend, the last weekend of 2012, here are some tips for creating New Year resolutions that last!

Let’s make 2013 a fantastic year!  Be healthy! Be active! Be a new you!

New Year resolutions are notoriously short-lived and often completely forgotten by February. The trick to making resolutions work is to follow the same steps required to make any goal successful.  To do so, follow these steps:

1. Choose the Right Resolution

With so many resolutions, failure is virtually assured at the offset because the resolutions are not made with serious intent and deliberation. The first trick is to choose the right resolution, for the right reasons.

2. Create a Plan

Most resolutions fail because people stop once they have made the resolution. It is crucial to harness the new year’s temporary motivation into something that will carry you through an extended period of required effort.

3. Stay on Track

With a good plan in hand, making significant progress toward your goal may require very little discipline if you live strictly by daily planners and love nothing more than checking off items from your to-do list.  If you do not use a daily planner, now is the perfect time to begin!

4. Remain Flexible and Keep on Going

A recent realization among goal-setting experts is the need to continually modify our approach – sometimes even changing or abandoning a goal altogether. The reason for this is that circumstances beyond our control frequently crop up at the most unexpected and inconvenient times. We can also expect our short-term and long-term priorities to change. So long as we build flexibility into our expectations, we can simply adjust things as we go.

Finally, the flip-side of setting difficult resolutions is that you must remember to acknowledge partial success.  Focus on the process while never losing sight of the end-result.

For example, losing 15 pounds is cause for celebration, even if your original goal is to lose 20 pounds. If you are just one step closer to your goal, then you are better off than before you began. Pat yourself on the back and keep on going.  Congratulate yourself for the small changes you make as you work towards your reaching your goal!

Best wishes to all for a safe and prosperous 2013!