• Sonny Long •
• Originally published January 5, 2009 at 10:09 a.m., updated January 5, 2009 at 10:09 a.m.

Making New Year's resolutions are a good way to organize your life and set attainable goals.

"I make a list of things I want to accomplish in the coming year," said Kathleen Holm, a teacher at Victoria's Our Lady of Victory School. "Usually they are fairly general like remaining healthy or being a better person, but there are some specific goals, too."

Holm said she keeps the written list handy and strikes off the goals as they are accomplished during the year.

Licensed professional counselor Lane Johnson said New Year's resolutions are "an excellent idea."

"I make elaborate resolutions myself every year," Johnson said. "For me, every year it's time for a fresh start. We can all use that. It's a time to assess my life, which I do during the whole month of January. I think very seriously about what I want the year to be about. It gives me direction during the year."

Johnson said he reviews the resolutions every quarter and then at the end of the year celebrates those he was able to accomplish.

"There is a sense of accomplishment at the end of the year," he said. "Anything we can do to proactively address our life is a good thing if we take realistic steps to pull them off."

According to a 1997 study conducted by Elizabeth Miller, a University of Washington doctoral candidate in psychology at the time, and Alan Marlatt, director of the university's Addictive Behaviors Research Center, to be successful with resolutions, take the following steps:

Have a strong initial commitment to make a change.

Have coping strategies to deal with problems that will come up.

Keep track of your progress. The more monitoring you do and feedback you get, the better you will do.

"The keys to making a successful resolution are a person's confidence that he or she can make the behavior change and the commitment to making that change," Miller said. In addition the study indicates that "resolutions are a process, not a one-time effort that offer people a chance to create new habits."

Sure-fire ingredients for setting yourself up for resolution failure, according to the study, include:

Not thinking about making resolutions until the last minute.

Reacting on New Year's Eve and making your resolutions based on what's bothering you or is on your mind at that time.

Framing your resolutions as absolutes by saying, "I will never do X again."

As final words of encouragement to resolution makers, Marlatt has these suggestions:

"Take credit for success when you achieve a resolution, but it is a mistake to blame yourself if you fail. Instead, look at the barriers that were in your way. See how you can do better the next time and figure out a better plan to succeed. You do get to try again and can make behavior changes throughout the year, not only at New Year's."

• The origins of New Year's resolutions

  The tradition of the New Year's resolutions goes all the way back to 153 B.C. when Janus, a mythical king of early Rome was placed at the head of the calendar. With two ...

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The origins of New Year's resolutions

The tradition of the New Year's resolutions goes all the way back to 153 B.C. when Janus, a mythical king of early Rome was placed at the head of the calendar. With two faces, Janus could look back on past events and forward to the future. Janus became the ancient symbol for resolutions and many Romans looked for forgiveness from their enemies and exchanged gifts before the beginning of each year. Some believe early Babylonians started the tradition of making New Year's resolutions. Their most frequent resolution was to return borrowed farm equipment and begin the new year with a clean slate. Some people believe that New Year's resolutions were once promises made to the gods, in the hope that the gods would grant them some favor in return, such as a good harvest. It was also believed that breaking of New Year's resolutions brought bad luck.

SOURCES: answerbag.com, newyearfestival.com

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