6 tricks for sticking to your healthy-living resolutions

Most lifestyle resolutions are hard to keep because they're unrealistic. Avoid failure and reinvent yourself without making drastic changes using these tips.

Don't leave the task of drawing up your goals for New Year's Day. You should have your plans in place by December or make them mid-January. You're likely to come up with more realistic plans when you've had some time to think about them.

You'll be more successful in following through on your goals, rather than being caught up in the excitement of the turn of the year and the general barrage of resolutions that start circulating through your social media networks.

Think about it. A general goal such as "work out more" will be harder to keep than "run five miles every day before breakfast." Making specific goals is the key to success in keeping your resolutions.

If you're setting yourself impossible goals, like "try to lose 10 pound in a week" or "give up smoking two packs a day starting tomorrow," you'll be back to square one within a week. Instead, think of one or two things that matter to you most and then decide to make some kind of concrete change to these areas of your life.

It's also important to not have a long list of major resolutions that will mean big changes, but just a few that are important to you.

You can have a list of 20 or 30 goals, as long as they don't require major life changes that will be difficult for you to cope with. In other words, mini goals such going to your first opera, visiting a certain place or trying out a new cuisine can be completed easily and leave you with a sense of accomplishment.

There will be plenty of people making resolutions in the New Year. You don't need their approval to make yours. Choose goals that are relevant to you alone—if you don't, your resolutions will often be harder to keep.

Plan a system of keeping yourself motivated as you follow your goals. Use charts, flash cards or apps to remind yourself of your goals. If your goal is to eat healthy, for instance, draw up a diary to document your meals or make a list of meal plans. If your goal is to begin blogging, set up a calendar to remind you when you need to post.

Making resolutions is the easy part; it's harder o stay motivated and follow through. Settle on resolutions you believe in, design an action plan and have fun committing to your goals!