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Page 2How to Keep Your New Year's Resolutions10 Great Tips for Keeping Your Resolutions This Year1. Choose a Specific, Realistic GoalEvery year, millions of adults resolve to "lose weight" or"get in shape" during the next year. Instead of selectingsuch anambiguous goal, focus onsomethingmore concrete that you canrealisticallyset your sights on. For example,you might commit to losing 10pounds orrunning a mini-marathon.Choosing a concrete, achievable goal also gives youthe opportunity to plan exactly how you are going toachieve your goal over the course of the year.2. Pick Just One ResolutionDon't overload yourself. It's difficult enough for theaverage person to follow through on one ambitiousNew Year's resolution; why on earthwould you saddle yourself with three orfour? Choose the most pressing issue athand-losing weight, finding a girlfriend,improving your relationship with yourparents-and concentrate on that. Trying to do everythingsimultaneously practically guarantees failureacross the board.3. Don't Wait Until New Year's EvePlanning is an essential part of achieving any goal.Expertssuggest that you should spendsometime planning out how you willtackle amajor behavior change. You canstart bywriting down your goal, making alist ofthings you might do to achievethat goal and noting any obstacles that might stand inyour way.4. Start With Small StepsTaking on too much is a common reason why so manyNew Year's Resolutions fail. Dramatically slashingcalories, over-doing it at the gym or radically alteringyour normal behavior are sure-fire waysto derail your plans. Instead, focus ontaking tiny steps that will ultimately helpyou reach your larger goal.5. Avoid Repeating Past FailuresAnother strategy for keeping your New Year's Resolutionis to not make the exact same resolution year afteryear. If you do choose to reach for the same goalsyou've tried for in the past, spend some time evaluatingyour past results. Which strategies were themost effective? Which were the least effective?What has prevented you from keepingyour resolution in past years? By changingyour approach, you will be more likely tosee real results this year.6. Remember That Change Is a ProcessThose unhealthy habits that you are trying to changeprobably took years to develop, so how can you expectto change them in just a matter or days, weeks ormonths? It may take longer than youwould like to achieve your goals, but rememberthat this is not a race to the finish.Once you have made the commitment tochanging a behavior, it is something that you will continueto work on for the rest of your life.7. Don't Let Small Stumbles Bring You DownEncountering a setback is one of the mostcommon reasons why people give up ontheir New Year's Resolutions. If you suddenlyrelapse into a bad habit, don't view itas a failure. The path toward your goal isnot a straight one, and there are always going to bechallenges. Instead, view relapses as learning opportunities.8. Get Support from Your Friends and FamilyYes, you've probably heard this advice a million times,but that is be-cause the buddy systemactually works.Having a solid supportsystem canhelp you stay motivated.Explain whatyour goals are to yourclose friends orfamily and ask them tohelp youachieve your objectives.Better yet, enlist the help of others by joining a groupthat shares your goal.9. Renew Your MotivationDuring the first days of a New Year's Resolution, youwill probably feel confident and highly motivated toreach your goal. Because you haven'treally faced any discomfort or temptationassociated with changing your behavior,making this change might seem all tooeasy. Remind yourself of exactly why youare doing this. What do you have to gain by achievingyour goal? Find sources of inspiration that will keepyou going when times get tough.10. Keep Working on Your GoalsBy February, many people have lost that initial spark ofmotivation that they felt immediately after making theirNew Year's Resolution. Keep that inspirationalive by continuing to work on yourgoals, even after facing setbacks. If yourcurrent approach is not working, reevaluateyour strategies and develop a new plan.Frequent FlyerI received a call one dayand the gentleman on theother end said “ Yes, thisis Constable Smith fromMunicipal Pretrial”“How can I help you ? ““I’d like to book a ride forsomeone 5 days fromnow “ I said “Ok! Is he aclient of ours?”“I DON’T KNOW, BUTHE SURE IS ONE OFOURS !!! ”I just about lost it.Oly - Customer ServiceThe now newspaper, Oct. 25/2012Roses andRotten TomatoesA busload of roses to allemployees at Handydart.From the drivers to thedispatchers, you havehelped my son achieve anindependence that wouldnot be possible if you werenot as professional andhelpful as you are. Keepup the great work.