The great thing about a new year is that it gives us a sense of hope that we can live our lives anew, start over again, and do things better.  New Year's Resolutions are useful tools for remaking ourselves.  Our resolutions often include improving habits related to weight, health, exercise, work, and business.  However, many people fail at their New Year’s resolutions.  Oftentimes, our failure to stick to our New Year’s resolution is due to a lack of planning, strategy, and motivation.

Despite the discouraging statistics, a “gifted” few will actually succeed in changing their habits and improving their lifestyle for good.

“Habit is habit, and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs a step at a time.”  -- Mark Twain

Now to coax your habit downstairs, here are 5 steps for making your New Year’s resolution work for you:

The New Year is just a few days away and already some are having doubts about their ability to stick to their resolutions.  The problem with most resolutions is that they start out good and strong, but eventually wane and fade within a few weeks.

Yet, despite all that, a few individuals will actually succeed in changing their habits and improving their lifestyle—permanently!

What is their secret?  They take baby steps and avoid sudden or drastic changes.  The most common reason New Year’s Resolutions fail is that people try to do too much too soon.  When we try to change too many things at once, we tend to lose focus and energy.

Avoid making vague resolutions like “I’m going to improve my business!”  While your intentions are good, you need to be more specific about what part of your business you want to improve.  You need to support your resolution with a concrete action plan and employ a proven method for improving specific aspects of your business.