Another year has gone by! You know what that means? It's time to start thinking about our New Year's resolutions again. Many of us have failed at achieving at least some of our New Year's resolutions year after year, and every year we say that this year will be different! To those of you who have been reading my column regularly, was this year different? Did you achieve some of your New Year's Resolutions this year? Did you follow my advice and set realistic and achievable goals and then work steadily towards achieving them? That is the only way to achieve success, so if you have been successful, stick with it; make fresh goals this year and keep plodding away. For the rest of you, I will give you the same advice I gave last year. Read on for some tips on goal-setting and making New Year's Resolutions! First of all, set a big goal! Look at the big picture: What would you like your life to be like by the end of the year, and beyond? Striving for something that is really important to you (not your family or your boss or your friend) will help keep you motivated and inspired.

Once you have decided on what you would like to ultimately achieve, break it down into smaller, more easily achievable goals. Set lots of smaller goals; goals that can be reached, with effort, monthly, weekly and even daily. As you are successful with your smaller goals, you will feel more confident and motivated to reach the next goal and the next and so on until before you know it, you've succeeded at all the resolutions you made for the year, and the big picture has become a reality! All the goals that you set for yourself should be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Acted upon daily, Realistic and with a set Time frame. If you're going to take the time to set goals, do it right! Don't just mumble to yourself some vague notions of things you would maybe like to accomplish. Decide exactly what you want to work towards, how you will monitor your progress, what you will do each day or week to work towards each goal, and when you intend to accomplish the goal by, but make sure each goal is achievable! And write it all down! Putting your goals down on paper emphasises the importance of them and gives you something to refer back to when you need inspiration. Also be sure to write down why you want to accomplish these goals; it will serve as a reminder to yourself when you're feeling less than motivated! When you sit down to decide upon your resolutions for 2001, remember that it is impossible to change your entire lifestyle all at once; choose a few areas that you would like to work on and just focus on them! Wait and see how you feel as you start achieving the small goals, and if you decide you can handle more then set additional goals. If you try to change everything all at once, you will be setting yourself up for failure, and the feeling of discouragement may cause you to give up altogether! On your journey, remember, we all make mistakes; you will slip occasionally on the road towards your goals. When this happens, brush yourself off and get back on track; don't beat yourself up or give up, learn and move on! With determination and effort, you can do it. Be realistic, believe in yourself and stay positive, and you will be successful in your efforts to achieve your New Year's Resolutions and become more Body Wise! Good luck on your journey, and have a happy and healthy 2001! SMART GOALS Achieving physical fitness means following SMART guidelines. These are goals which are: S pecific M easurable A cted upon daily R ealistic; and with a set T ime frame.