With the end of 2009 looming and the beginning of the new year nearly here, many people start scrambling to make resolutions to improve their lives somehow, some way. Resolving to do something different — or just smarter — seems like a terrific idea. So why do so many resolutions get broken?

The answer, perhaps, lies in the fact that most people throw their resolutions out there with one motion: Umph, it's out there. Now what?

With no planning or forethought, no preparation for the obstacles that are sure to arise, those well-intended resolutions have nowhere to go but into a sorry sack labeled "I'll try it again next year" or "That was way too hard" or "I'll do it in a few days, when XYZ is out of the way."

Uh huh. We've all been there at one point or another. Something seems to get in the way of all those good intentions. But if you really want to get started in 2010 on the so-called right foot, here are a few tips to guide you through the rough spots. No matter what your resolution is — quitting smoking, starting a workout routine, eating healthier foods, cooking at home more often than eating out, cutting meat out one day a week — these steps may just make your resolve more, well, resolved:

• Take baby steps. Big, giant leaps sound great when you first start something new, but like the tortoise racing the hare, small steps that keep on going will keep you going through the hard times. An example would be climbing a mountain: Sprinters may pass you at the foot of the mountain, but chances are good that you will pass those sprinters by higher up the mountain if you take it slow but steady. Keep telling yourself, "Take baby steps, take baby steps" and you will outlast the difficulty.
• Remember that this, too, shall pass. No matter how hard your challenge is, it will get easier and the hard times will pass. So you've just promised yourself that you will work out a minimum of three days per week and getting up early in the morning sounds insane; tell yourself that this crazy sleepy feeling you're experiencing will pass. Just get up and force yourself to function for five minutes (even three can do the trick). After five minutes, you'll already be dressed in your workout clothes. And that, friends, is easily half the battle.
• Do it because you can. If you're the type who needs a motivational story to get you going, look around and you'll find more than enough reasons to do what you set out to do at the beginning of the year. Don't want to go to the gym? Think of just one soldier coming back from war without a leg. Not interested in truly giving up a nicotine habit? Remember a relative who is not around anymore because of lung or mouth cancer. Can't find it in you to cook dinner again? Notice the folks at the freeway exits who may not have access to a stove or oven. If doing it for yourself isn't enough motivation, do it because you can while others can't.
• Play mind games. Whatever it takes to do just a little more, just a little longer can earn you a higher degree of success. Say you're just beginning a running routine and want to increase your distance. When you feel as if you've reached the point at which you really should walk (as long as you're not about to pass out — always listen to your body), tell yourself that you'll walk as soon as you get to that next tree or sign post, or that you'll reevaluate how you feel when you get to that tree or sign post. Sometimes you'll get to that tree and stop because you feel as if you physically need to stop; but there's a good chance that you'll get to that tree and feel good enough to go to the next tree and then the next sign post. Or you may start thinking about something entirely unrelated and — ba da bing! — the next thing that you know, you're 80 yards beyond that first tree without even realizing it. Mind games are terrific resolution extenders.
• Get back on that horse. One week flew by and you were a rock star when it came to upholding your resolution. But then something happened and you caved in. You had that drink; you overdosed on Nifty Nut House goodies; you skipped out on the gym for two weeks solid due to notorious Wichita weather; you swung through the fast-food drive-through more times than you can remember since the year started. That's how it goes sometimes. Acknowledge that fact and forgive yourself. Then get back to upholding that resolution. You're not a perfect being, but you are a person who would like to improve, so just do it.

Since there will always be a reason not to do something, you have to just do it already. Make that change.

Because you can.