Hi and welcome to episode four of the savvy psychologist. I'm Dr. Ellen

Hendrickson, your host for a happier, healthier mind. I'll help you meet life's challenges with evidence-based

research, a sympathetic ear, and zero judgment. We'll use the best of psychology to help you be

happy, relaxed, and most importantly, yourself.

In today's episode, we'll talk about why most New Year's resolutions fail

and how to try again.

So now, resolutions. It's late January.

Four weeks in, you may be a model of New Year's Resolution virtue, breaking in those running shoes,

gamely working through Proust or Joyce, sticking to your budget, or giving the evil eye to the

candy bowl on the receptionist desk.

But most of us are back on the couch watching cat

videos on YouTube or using the new treadmill to dry panty hose. If you're among

the latter but want to give your New Year's resolution another shot,

here are six tips for a fail-safe resolution 2.0.

But first, we need to know what we're dealing with.

We can sort resolutions into three categories.

Category number one is the result resolution.

A result resolution means you're trying to reach a specific goal.

Resolutions that fall into this category are things like

lose 10 pounds, start a retirement fund or do my gym's 12-week fitness challenge.

You know you have a result resolution if it can be checked off a list when it's done.

These are the easiest to stick to because you have a specific goal in mind and you can measure your progress,

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