Exercise more. Drink less. Quit smoking. Make a career move. If your rendition of Auld Lang Syne is accompanied by a broken record of the same resolutions each year, perhaps it’s time to ask why. Make 2012 the year you stopped the cycle. No, really, this time we mean it.

Why so broke?

Fear of failure and not spending enough time considering why a change is needed are just two of the reasons people don’t achieve their New Year’s Resolutions, according to personal coach and mentor Helen Treloar.

Another common mistake is focusing on what we don’t want, rather than visualising what we do want.

“Your neurology cannot process a negative. All that we resist will persist,” says Helen. “‘I don’t want to look like this anymore’ equates to ‘Don’t think of a yellow star right now’.

“The brain likes to think in pictures, so to move forward from a feeling of being stuck, we’ve got to have a very clear picture of what that future looks like.”

Positive images of being fit, healthy, energetic and comfortable in your own skin give your mind a vision of what you’re aiming for, and reasons to break past habits.

This makes perfect sense, at least in theory. But how do we train our minds to change habits that may have been years in the making?

Helen offers these strategies for making resolutions stick:

• Split a page into two columns. On one side, list all the costs of the behaviours you would like to change, and who is adversely affected by them. In the other column, write down the benefits of changing each behaviour and who will receive those benefits.
• Create a mental picture of you and the life you will have when you have made the change. Spend a few minutes each day imagining a detailed, clear picture of this person.
• Make a vision board with images that inspire you to work towards your dreams of finances, property, family, health, career and spirituality.
• Exercise in a group. Reconnecting with feminine energy is a great way to replenish our adrenals, making us feel alive and well, and giving us the vitality to achieve our goals.
• Set smaller goals and see them as stepping stones to your dreams. Have lots of goals that you can tick off so you are constantly achieving them.
• Celebrate success, however big or small. Reward yourself and be your own best friend.