NEW YORK, Dec 27, 2001/ --- It's that time of year again when we all promise ourselves that we'll lose weight, stop smoking, curb spending and get a boyfriend. The tradition of making New Year's resolutions is, quite often, less about reflecting on the year that has passed - though this year should prove differently - and more about making ourselves feel better about the future.

But making resolutions is one thing; making them happen is quite another. Promises to lose weight, eat healthier, exercise more, quit smoking, reduce alcohol consumption and make new friends all top the list of most common resolutions.

And according to Dr. Elizabeth Miller, the co-author of a University of Washington study on New Year's Resolutions, health-related resolutions are the most common. She found that most people made several resolutions, with 67 percent making three or more. But what's the secret to following through on them?

This year, resolve to make good on your New Year's resolutions. Here are Dr. Miller's top 10 tips to keep you on track:

1. Pick a behavior to change, not an outcome. For example, a resolution to increase exercise is a behavioral change, while a resolution to lose weight is an outcome.

2. Start with just one behavior and make it realistic. So, if you plan to start exercising for the first time in two years, start out walking a mile a day and increase gradually.

3. Write out a specific and detailed plan defining how you will accomplish your goal week by week. Update it as necessary. For a lot of people, the failure is in not defining a realistic goal and specifying how to reach it, rather than simply failing to reach the goal.

4. Be flexible and have a backup plan in case something unexpected happens.

5. Keep a daily log or journal so you can follow your progress and be reminded of your goal.

6. Find support from a friend, partner, family member, coworker or acquaintance who wants to change too. Check in with your support partner on a regular basis.

7. Plan ahead for a start date. Give yourself enough time to: List out potential obstacles; come up with solutions to those obstacles; imagine yourself in "risky" situations (where you might be tempted to give up resolution) and how you will navigate through them successfully.

8. Give yourself a small but worthwhile reward when you meet your weekly goals. When you meet your monthly goal, give yourself a bigger reward, and so on. Rewards cannot be counter-productive to your goal.

9. View failure to reach your goal as a learning experience. Ask yourself: What happened? What went wrong? How can I fix it next time? What went right? How can I be sure to do that again? Try again! Remember it takes most of us several learning experiences before we successfully change a habit.

10. Have patience with yourself - change is hard! Someone once said "inch by inch, life's cinch, yard by yard, life is hard."