Originally, writing an article about this subject was rejected out of hand, but then traditional thinking overruled emotional responses. After all, it is not a bad idea to embrace "out with the old and in with the new!" According to www.mygoals.com, there is a right way and a wrong way to make a New Year's resolution.

1. Create a Plan

Setting a goal without formulating a plan is merely wishful thinking. In order for your resolution to have resolve, (as the word "resolution" implies), it must translate into clear steps that can be put into action. A good plan will tell you a) What to do next and b) What are all of the steps required to complete the goal.

2. Create Your Plan IMMEDIATELY

Most people become motivated and have a limited window of opportunity to implement their plan.

3. Write Down Your Resolution and Plan.

Seeing your ideas in print or posting your plan in a visible place increases motivation.

4. Think "Year Round," Not Just New Year's

Nothing big gets accomplished in one day. Resolutions are set in one day, but accomplished with a hundred tiny steps that happen throughout the year. New Year's resolutions should be nothing more than a starting point. mygoals.com helps you stick to your plan by providing e-mail reminders that arrive when it's time to work on a given task.

5. Remain Flexible

We also know that it is very hard to maintain that special incentive to keep up your new goals. How many (who use a gym) notice the drop-off in attendance two to three months after the New Year. Everyone starts with good intentions and then life just interferes.

The experts at University of Maryland School of Medicine in managing success know how difficult it can be to maintain that momentum. Here is some of their advice gathered from years of experience in working with clients.

Expect that your plan can and will change. Life has a funny way of throwing unexpected things at us, and flexibility is required to complete anything but the simplest goal. Sometimes the goal itself will even change. Most of all, recognise partial successes at every step along the way. Just as a resolution isn't accomplished the day it's stated, neither is it accomplished the day you reach your goal. Rather, it's accomplished in many small increments along the way. Acknowledge these incremental successes as they come.

"Focus on realistic goals with measurable results," said Jill RachBeisel, MD, director of community psychiatry at the University of Maryland Medical Center and an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Maryland School of Medicine."You need to break things down into small steps that you can manage."

For example, RachBeisel said that instead of trying to lose 50 pounds, focus on losing five pounds at a time. And instead of trying to lose five pounds a week, focus on losing a pound a week.

"Create bite-sized jobs for yourself that you'll be able to accomplish," said RachBeisel. "If your goal is too big, you'll feel defeated before you even get started."

According to Hinda Dubin, MD, a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Maryland School of Medicine and psychiatrist at the University of Maryland Medical Center, the key to achieving even your most lofty goals is to get started immediately.

"Action precedes motivation, not the other way around," said Dubin. "People often think that they should wait until they are motivated to start doing something good for themselves. They'll say, 'I'll start that diet or fitness programme when I'm really well rested and have a lot of energy'. But it doesn't work that way."

Dubin said that instead of waiting for inspiration to act on your goals, you need to take action first and inspiration will follow. Your initial action doesn't have to be anything big. Just by putting on your sneakers and hopping on the treadmill for 10 minutes, you will make that energy you are "waiting" for materialise.

"Once you initiate an action — the smallest of actions — you pick up momentum and you'll realise 'hey, this isn't so bad' and it will be a lot easier to keep moving forward, and to stay motivated."

Sources: http://www.mygoals.com/about/NewYearsTips.html

University of Maryland http://www.umm.edu/features/prepare.htm

Happy New Year, readers, and best of success in the New Year.

Martha Harris Myron CPA-NH#1929 CFP®#67184 TEP#203510 is a Certified Financial Planner specialising in investment advisory services focused on capital preservation and comprehensive financial solutions for clients considering lifestyle transitions and rewarding retirements. Confidential e-mail can be directed to marthamyron@northrock.bm CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER®, and are certification marks owned in the US by Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. (CFP Board) and outside the United States by Financial Planning Standards Board Ltd. (FPSB). CFP Board and FPSB permit qualified individuals to use these marks to indicate that they have met CFP Board's and/or FPSB's initial and ongoing certification requirements. The article expresses the opinion of the author alone. Under no circumstances is the content of this article to be taken as specific investment, legal, tax or financial planning advice, nor as a recommendation to buy/ sell any investment product. The Editor of The Royal Gazette has final right of approval over headlines, content, and length/brevity of content.