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I have a love-hate relationship with New Year’s resolutions. On one hand, anything that causes us to take a moment to seriously reflect on where we’re headed in life is a good and valuable thing to do. The end of the year is a perfect time to take an honest look at the status of our health, spiritual life, financial status, family relationships or any other major aspect of life that will determine much of our long-term happiness.

But as we all know, resolutions can also be a not-so-serious attempt at healthy and positive changes (changes that we never really intended on keeping in the first place). Studies have found that 60 percent of people who set a New Year’s goal give up on it within three months. So what does take to be in that ever desirable 40 percent club?Here are some key strategies to make your new habit stick:

Have a positive attitude — By focusing on the “I wills” instead of the “will nots,” you put yourself in the right mental attitude for successful change. If you remind yourself of all the things you shouldn’t do or can’t do, it makes your effort a negative experience, which is not what you want to invite into your life.I recommend that you write a few of your “I wills” on a sticky note and post them on your fridge and car dashboard, in your wallet and on your computer monitor. This keeps the positive change ahead of you at the forefront of your mind and in focus throughout your day. When moments of weakness strike, you will be armed with a clear vision of what you want to accomplish, and that negative thought will be busted before it has a chance to ruin your new, healthy quest.

Gain control through learning — If weight loss is your goal, learn everything you can about healthy eating and exercise. Simply taking a diet pill or jumping on a fad diet is not going to teach you to live a healthier lifestyle or keep that weight off for a lifetime. There are many great online resources available to help educate you on the ins and outs of healthy eating and exercise.www.fitday.com — a free online diet journal and calorie counting tool.

www.foodnetwork.com — go to the healthy eating section for great recipes.

www.eatright.org — American Dietetic Association Web site that has great references and articles.

www.prevention.com — everything you want to know about exercise and healthy living.

www.lifechanginghealthysolutions.com — this is my own site. I have free healthy living information for you there.

Keep your eyes on the prize — It’s one thing to want to lose weight, but don’t make that your entire focus. Also remind yourself that if you lost weight you’d lower your risk of heart disease, diabetes and hypertension. You’d also increase your energy, boost your confidence, feel more attractive and fit easily into your clothes.If your goal is to stop smoking, you can add reducing your risk of lung cancer and heart attack to your list — not to mention that you will no longer have “smoker’s breath” (yuck!), your clothes won’t stink like smoke (you might not be aware of the smell the smoke in your clothes, but everyone around you notices — trust me) and you’ll save money by not having to buy cigarettes anymore.

Now, that’s what I call a life-changing prize.

This entry was posted on Monday, December 31st, 2007 at 5:08 pm and is filed under health, Exercise, healthy family, healthy food, Blogroll, healthy eating, healthy solutions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.