Over champagne, and the chinking of glasses on the 31st, we are all guilty of vowing to ourselves (and everyone around us) that this is going to be the year to make our goal happen. Whether it is to stop littering, be a little kinder, work harder, kick a nasty habit or do more exercise, we raise our glasses filled to the brim with hope and enthusiasm to a new year and a brand new goal. Goodbye old me…new life here I come.

After starting the year on such a positive note, I ask why do so many of us end up with the same goals year and after? We may start out with the most honourable intentions but in the end why do so many of us end up falling off the bandwagon after the first week?

In the final three months of last year, our office underwent a 12 week fitness and healthy eating overhaul. After it was over, we emerged proud of ourselves for making it through and feeling better than ever. As a team, we motivated each other through thick and thin(ner) in such a way that would have been much more challenging solo.

Although we called our little experiment the “12 Week Challenge”, we are all aware that the real challenge started then and there in keeping it up on our own.

So I had an idea, this year when I wrote down my New Year’s Resolutions, instead of putting my energy into a set of things I wanted to change, I decided to focus instead on keeping my motivation. That is going to be my goal. It seems to make sense considering that is the key to making change possible.

What is going to keep you going strong in 2011?