2013 is here! Need to shed weight? Take on the world? Here’s how to ensure you stick to your New Year’s resolution.

First, the negative news: The odds are stacked against you. Several years ago, a psychologist carried out a study of 3,000 people who had set New Year’s resolutions for themselves. At the end the year, only 12% had in fact achieved their goals. But don’t let those bleak stats kill your mojo-there are a couple of effortless techniques to generate your goals a lot more attainable.

It’s customary to come up with a list of resolutions when the new year rolls in. And out of the many things you could wish to achieve with the new year, eating better, getting regular exercise, and generally improving your health always make it to the top of the list. Unfortunately, most resolutions fall through the cracks come February, forever forgotten. Fortunately, all is not lost. Just because people usually fail at sticking to their New Year’s resolutions doesn’t mean the same will be true for you this year.

This year, you’re going to stick to your health and fitness resolutions with the help of the following tips:

• Make Them Manageable. New Year’s resolutions are all about aiming big but you also have to be reasonable. Making your resolutions manageable, setting them within what you know you’re capable of, will make it easier for you to achieve them, thus ensuring that you will most likely stick with them until the end. You can also do this by coming up with short and long-term goals. Set up short-term goals in such a way that achieving them makes you one step closer towards meeting your long-term goals so you don’t waste time and effort on the overall.
• But Don’t Forget To Challenge. Just because you have to make a resolution reasonable doesn’t mean that you can’t push yourself to go further. There isn’t much merit after all in achieving something that you can do with very little effort. Make some of your resolutions challenging so you can be prouder of yourself when you meet them. Keep in mind that as long as you can imagine it, it is possible.
• Engage Other People. You are more likely to stick to your New Year’s resolutions when other people are involved because: 1) you suck it up because you don’t want to lose face in front of them; and 2) you have other people supporting you, urging you on to bolster your will not to quit. Not to mention that doing your exercises with someone will make them more fun, increasing chances that you will stick with your routine as needed. The path to fitness is a personal one but no one ever said that it has to be lonely. Join our free support group today.
• Know What You Like. Even if you don’t have an exercise buddy, you can still increase the likelihood that you will stick with a program if you are doing what you like. For instance, there are some people who can’t stand the gym and so will get much better results doing physical activities at home with a Team Beachbody workout or by simply running or playing sports. There are tons of things you can do on top of hitting the gym so there’s sure to be a physical activity you’ll like enough to stick with for the rest of the year and the years to come.
• Change It Up. Repeating activities can get boring even when you’re doing something you generally like so do change it up once in a while. Aside from beating boredom and keeping you moving, this will also help you work through plateaus should you hit one.

What are some of your New Years Resolutions, let us know in the comments below.

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