6 Tips to Make New Year's Resolutions Stick

Unless you can stick to your goals for the long haul they will totally backfire and make you feel like a failure. But we’re not going to let that happen in 2012, and to ensure that your goals are doable and empowering, be sure to follow these six tips.

Don’t Candy-Coat the Medicine
It is easy to fantasize easy results when we are excited about the potential and possibility of a new beginning. But real change is hard. Dial back your resolutions until you know they are doable and achievable. Then you’ll be encouraged by the results, not frustrated by the challenges.

Multi-tasking is Overrated
Dozens of studies show that while multi-taskers may feel highly competent, they actually lack the ability to really focus. To accomplish great goals you need extraordinary concentration. So rather than making a dozen resolutions make one, two, or three at the most and then give them laser-like attention and focus.

Resolutions Require Rewards
To stick to your plan you need to enjoy the fruits of your labor along the way. But don’t depend solely upon getting compliments or recognition from others. Set metrics and benchmarks. At each benchmark, reward yourself in some small but meaningful way.

Be Moderate, Not Manic
The great thing about moderation is that you can do it for a long, long time. Don’t take off like a rocket only to burn out like a shooting star. Resolutions are about endurance, not sprints – so the turtle wins the race, not the hare.

Put Time On Your Side
As soon as somebody goes on a diet, they start checking their weight on the bathroom scale twice a day. We want results and we want them now. But that’s unrealistic. So set patient goals you’ll enjoy the results forever.

No Sustain, No Gain
Sustainability is the buzzword for 2012, and that applies to New Year’s resolutions. Set goals that you can reach and then maintain – because those are the ones that will maintain you in a positive way for years to come.

Nobody wants to start off the New Year by stacking the statistical odds against themselves. So when you sit down to write New Year’s resolutions keep these tips in mind. You’ll be on your way to success before the ball drops in Times Square.