Keeping Your New Year's Resolution: 5 Tips to Accomplishing Your Goals in 2007

New year's resolutions slip by us like a dream every year. At the end of a year we are thinking hopefully on the next 12 months ahead and our desire to improve is intrinsically placed in each of us. So why is it that we can't keep it up? Why do we just let the resolution fall to pieces at the sight of February? Don't let it happen this year. Make 2007 the year you accomplished your New Year's resolution with these 5 tips.

1. Be realistic

Most of us don't get anywhere with our resolutions because we set unrealistic goals. If you want to lose 25 pounds by February, than you are being unrealistic and setting yourself up for failure. If you are someone who hates to exercise, and you plan on doing it on a weekly basis in 2007, than you need to re-think how to achieve that goal. First you need to learn to associate exercise with something beneficial and 'good.' You can start by doing it as a stress reliever on a bi-weekly basis. Don't go full out on an exercise routine you can't possibly keep up with. Be realistic.

2. Little things

Instead, make small goals. If you are trying to quit a bad habit, make small steps to it. A smoker, for example, may want to set a goal to reduce the amount they smoke, eventually leaving the habit behind. But their 'little' goal should be something attainable on a daily basis. We are more likely to give up if we don't feel a sense of accomplishment in the little things.

3. Put the Resolve back into Resolution

Resolve is to reach a 'definite' and 'earnest' decision to do something. The key to a keep and 'resolution' is to think of it as something you've made a definite decision about. It can't be something you only half want to do because it would be nice. It has to be something that you DEFINITELY want to do because it will improve your quality of life in some way.

4. Remind yourself

Your resolution must be something that you are doing for the right reason. If you want to quit smoking because it makes your clothes smell, than that's probably not enough to hold you to it when you are in a moment of crisis. Likewise, wanting to lose weight for a specific event or a specific person will not give you the motivation you really need when faced with temptation. Really consider the things you want to work on, develop, or improve, and make an actual listing (in writing!) of why this is important. These reasons should be things like "improve my health," "give me more energy," or anything that is positive and definable. Hang this where you can see it on a daily basis, and remind yourself on a daily basis that this is why you are doing it.

5. Renewal

Even the best of us will stray from our plan whether it is a little or a lot. But you need to believe that you can start over again, and all is not lost. Don't give up on yourself. Those that succeed at anything have this quality-when they fall they get back up. Don't be afraid to re-analyze your game plan and re-work it. Most first plans have unforeseen problems in them, and need to be altered as the months go by in accordance to new knowledge on the matter. The key is to believe in yourself.