Reprinted from the Health District's quarterly publication mailed to district residents (Winter 2001)

Think small.

It’s not the advice one would expect to get for crafting those New Year’s resolutions, but according to the experts it’s the best way to ensure keeping them.

"Probably the biggest pitfall people fall into is making these giant resolutions that are difficult, if not impossible, to live up to," said Peter Poses, a Fort Collins-based marriage and family psychologist. "How are you going to live up to something like ‘Be good’?

"Don’t make promises you can’t keep — to yourself or others."

Poses said resolutions are more meaningful the less abstract they are. For example, instead of resolving to "treat people better," he suggests thinking of specific people and how you can treat them in a better, healthier way.

Tim Rickett, a personal trainer at the Fort Collins Club agrees that all too often well-intentioned resolution makers set the bar unobtainably high.

"Most resolutions fall prey to unrealistic expectations," said Rickett, who has been a personal trainer for nearly 20 years. "People try to do too much too fast and just end up discouraged."

Rickett suggests to his clients that they break down their overall goals into a series of smaller, more obtainable ones.

"Rather than just say 'I’m going to lose 50 pounds’ and then try to go to the gym for three hours a day, seven days a week, people should break it down to a couple of pounds a week," he said. "Maybe you want to be down six pounds by the end of January, now that’s a better goal."

Better, but not the best in Rickett’s opinion. The personal trainer encourages people to look beyond the numbers.

"Unless someone is in a weight-related sport, there really is no reason to get on a scale," he said. "Think about what a certain weight means to you and that’s your real goal.

"Maybe it’s being in shape, maybe it’s being able to fit into a certain dress."

In other words, resolution makers first have to look at the larger overall goal before setting up the little ones to get them there.

Lucinda Kerschensteiner, a life coach, takes this big to little approach with the clients who come to her looking for direction and motivation. Most clients come in to talk about their careers and end up looking at other areas of their lives as well.

"The first thing they do is sit down and make a list of things they want to accomplish," she said. "Then we work backward to lay out what steps they can take to reach those goals."

During this process, Kerschensteiner asks her clients to sort out priorities.

"We determine what values are important to a person and set goals accordingly," she said. " You are more likely to stick with something if it’s based on a personal value."

Kerschensteiner’s phone usually starts ringing more often at the first of the year.

"It’s a good time of year to focus on what’s important to you and where you want your life to go," she said. "The beginning of the new year offers a natural fresh start."

That said, all the experts interviewed for this story stress that January is not the only month of the year to think about goals.

"The New Year isn’t the only time to assess where you’re going and decide how to get yourself there," Poses said. "In fact, I think it’s the resolutions that are made at other times of the year that are actually more meaningful."

"They are more heart-based, they come from what’s going on in a person’s life rather than just a calendar."

Those resolutions that are made at the first of the year should be kept in mind throughout the year.

"It’s not just about the end goal," Kerschensteiner said. "It’s about the journey to be undertaken one step at a time – throughout the year."