It’s that time of year again where many of us set goals, reflect on the past year, and resolve to make better decisions in the upcoming year. Can making all of these resolutions actually set us up for failure? The answer is not a clear yes or no, but there are ways to increase your chances of sticking to your goals.

A recent article “Blame it on the Brain” suggests that if you spread out your resolutions it will be less overwhelming and far more reasonable to accomplish. It makes more sense to have one clearly defined goal at the new year and then a resolution to make a new goal every so often throughout the year.

Specific to weight loss, clearly define your goals. Resolving to lose weight is too generic. Resolving to lose 5 pounds before February 5 and start walking 1 day a week for 45 minutes is far more actionable. Keeping a journal of your progress can also be a great help with accountability.

Have a happy and safe New Year, clearly define your goals for 2010, and don’t overwhelm yourself by making too many resolutions.

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 31st, 2009 at 9:50 am and is filed under News. 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.