7 Tips To Help You Keep Your New Years Resolutions

Did you know that most New Year's resolutions are broken before the end of January? Over 90% of New Year's resolutions are abandoned within a few weeks of making them. Why do so many people make resolutions only to forget about them a few weeks later? Is it because we set goals that are too big, is it the timing of New Year's resolutions, or do we just not put the effort into keeping our goals?

Resolutions can be very powerful and create positive changes in our lives, but only if we keep them! Here are some tips to help you keep your resolutions in 2009:

* Set realistic and achievable goals. If your goal is to lose weight, then losing 50 lbs in one month is obviously not realistic. You need to determine what a reasonable goal would be when creating your resolution.

* Write your goals down. Something about writing goals down (vs. just verbalizing them) makes them more real. It's also much easier to track your progress if you have your goals written down. A great tip is to keep a journal and track your progress in your journal each day, week or month until you have reached your goal.

* Get an accountability partner. Tell someone (or several people) what your resolutions are. The more people you tell, the more support you'll have, and the more likley you'll reach your goal. Having an accountability partner is even more supportive because you will be checking in with this person periodically to review your progress.

* Create goals that can be measured. Resolutions that can't be measured will be broken first. If you want to lose weight, define how much weight you want to lose and in what time period. If you want to pay off debt, figure out how much debt you want to pay off in what time period, etc. If you have measurable goals, you can see how you're progressing and you'll be more motivated to keep them.

* Build rewards into your resolution. This is a great tip for people who are trying to get out of debt, because it can be so discouraging to sock all of your money towards credit card debt and not see any rewards from it. If you build a reward into your plan (such as buying yourself a small gift or taking an affordable weekend trip when you've paid off so much debt), you'll be more motivated and much more likely to achieve your goal.

* Pick one or two resolutions to focus on instead of having several resolutions. If you have too many resolutions you'll be spread too thin and you won't achieve any of them. Do a brain dump then pick one or two that are the most important to you to focus on in 2009. If you achieve your first two resolutions, you can always go back and set more later in the year!

* Don't beat yourself up if you get off track. Resolutions take time to achieve, and everyone gets off track once in a while (and probably more than once). The best thing to do if you do get off track is to start again the next day. There's no rule that says you have to achieve your goal on the first try or by a certain time. Take one day at a time and try, try again.