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at it and don't expect drastic changes overnight.

Write your plan down and look at it
Hang a copy of your resolutions and plan of attack on your refrigerator, hang a copy on your bathroom mirror, keep a copy in your purse or wallet. Just be sure you see your plan a lot. Starting a journal to track your progress can also be helpful.

Stay flexible
Your plan can and probably will change. Allow for imperfections. Sticking to a goal is hardly ever easy and requires a lot of work. If you plan on hitting the occasional roadblock, you'll be prepared to handle any sticky situation. If your goal is to quit smoking and you're invited to a party where you know people will be lighting up left and right, you may want to consider throwing on a nicotine patch or skipping the shin dig altogether. If you should happen to revert back to your old bad-habit-having ways, don't let it ruin all of your hard work. Learn from it and move on.

Get your head in the game

Why is it that so many of us struggle with maintaining our goals when we have such a strong desire to better ourselves come January 1st? The answer lies in the fact that knowledge, insight, decision-making, and planning are all products of the thinking center of the brain, or neocortex; while our drive for pleasure, comes from the emotional center, a.k.a. the limbic system of our brain. We fail to maintain new goals because we try to make changes by using the thinking brain rather than engaging the emotional brain where our drive to want more is centered.

Stress less
It is necessary to decrease stress in your life and increase the behaviors that support the flooding of "feel good" neurotransmitters in your brain to stay motivated. "Feel good" neurotransmitters can include setting a purpose for your day, passionate and/or meaningful pursuits, intimate connection to others, regular exercise, balanced meals, and adequate sleep each night.

Stay strong
Nothing is going to change unless you change is. If you keep practicing your old habits, you'll keeping seeing the same results. To see a change, you need to buckle down and decide in your head that you can do it.

Enlist the help of others

A support group/person can make all the difference when you are attempting to achieve a goal. Sure, we know we need to work at our goals, but when we're feeling like we just can't do it anymore, these are the people we can count on to give us that push or incredibly forceful shove that we need.

A little help from your friends
A friend or family member

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