Ways to stay on top of New Year's resolutions

Experts say goals should be attainable, relevant, specific

DETROIT – At the beginning of the New Year, many people make resolutions to drop some pounds, quit smoking, get organized or even save money. Three weeks into the New Year, there is often a drop in your performance and you find yourself falling into bad habits.

"A lot of time you'll see people to make it through the first three or four weeks," says personal trainer Rod Gardner. Gardner is a personal trainer and owner of P-T in the D. Gardner has found that many of his clients begin slacking on their resolutions around the end of January early February.

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Pauline Everette, a Detroit based life coach, uses the acronym S.M.A.R.T. when it comes to setting New Year's resolutions.

S.M.A.R.T. stands for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time bound.

"Of the people who make the resolution, 97 percent fail and 3 percent succeed," Everette said.

Setting goals using the S.M.A.R.T. acronym can help you stick to your resolution if you're having trouble.

"We can think of ways to celebrate the victories and not spend too much time on the things that fall short of what we're trying to accomplish," Everette said.