Can you believe it’s already 2014?  If you’re like me, you have already started thinking about what you New Year’s resolutions might be for this year.  I have the same problem every year of trying to stick to my resolutions after the first few weeks.  Studies show that I’m not alone in that problem.  A study in 2007 from the University of Bristol found that 88% of people who set New Year’s resolutions fail.

This year, let’s try to be part of the 12% who stick to their resolutions.  Here are a few tips for making successful New Year’s resolutions.

• Set goals that are attainable.  A goal that is too large can seem overwhelming and unattainable.  Try making small, goals that you know you can achieve by small changes in your lifestyle.
• Create specific goals.  A goal of “losing weight” or “exercising” might sound great, but it is vague and not always easy to achieve without specifics.  Instead, set specific goals like “cut out cokes and ice cream” or “go to the gym every other day.”
• Set measurements for your goals.  This goes hand in hand with creating specific goals.  If you know what you want to achieve, you can easily measure your progress.  If your goal is to lose weight by cutting out cokes and ice cream, you can measure days without cokes and pounds lost.  That feeling of achievement can help you continue with your plan!

I’m looking forward to the new year and new opportunities.  Let’s see what we can accomplish in 2014!