New Year, New You!

It’s almost that time of year, to welcome in the New Year with celebrations…and resolutions. The New Year brings a chance to make changes and is a great time for a fresh start, which may help us better stick to our resolutions.

Whether it’s losing weight, increasing physical activity or reducing clutter, people commit to a variety of resolutions. Typical resolutions are geared toward self improvement or enhancement. No matter what you want to achieve in 2012, research shows that that there are several key strategies that can help us accomplish our goals:

• Make a list of the reasons why accomplishing this goal will make your life better. Then, when sticking to your resolution gets tough, you can come back to this list and remember the reasons you’ve made the resolution in the first place.
• Write your resolution down and word it positively. It is much easier to “start living smoke-free” than “quit smoking forever.”
• Develop coping strategies to deal with challenges before you make the change. If your resolution is around healthy eating, plan the activities you will do other than eating when things get stressful.
• Record your progress in a journal or on a scorecard and reward yourself with healthy incentives as you achieve milestones.

Your 2012 Resolution Planner

Don’t let your New Year’s resolution fizzle away. Use this worksheet to make practical resolutions for 2012 – and remember:

• Be realistic.
• Plan ahead.
• Track your progress.