Will Your New Year's Resolution Last?

(MYFOX NATIONAL) - The start of the new year is a good time for people to have a fresh start in their lives. It's a time to reflect on the changes we want -- or need -- to make and resolve to follow through on those changes.

So how many of us make resolutions, and, more importantly, how many of those resolutions are kept?

Nearly half of American adults make one or more resolutions each year, according to Proactive Change . Traditionally the most popular New Year's resolutions pertain to weight loss, exercise, quitting smoking and better money management.

Proactive Change claims that the majority of these resolutions won't be maintained for more than a month. According to the site, 75 percent of resolutions will be broken in the first week, 71 percent won't make it past two weeks, 64 percent will be broken by the end of January, and after six months only 46 percent will still be active.

By the end of the year, statistics show that nearly 97 percent of New Year's resolutions won't be kept . Why is it so hard for us to do what we say we want to do?

Michael York, goals expert and author of "The 10 Commitments," offers two simple reasons for these failures -- most people expect not to keep a resolution, and most don't know how to truly set goals or don't believe it matters.

In his e-book "Uncommon Goals," York writes, "Goals are personal. Or should be. It's more about gaining an understanding of what it really means to have goals as a compass to take you in a specific direction or away from some undesirable destination."

While a lot of people who make new year's resolutions do break them, research shows that making resolutions is useful . People who explicitly make resolutions are 10 times more likely to attain their goals than people who don't explicitly make resolutions.

USA.gov lists its most popular resolutions for 2010 as:

• Lose Weight
• Manage Debt
• Save Money
• Get a Better Job
• Get Fit
• Get a Better Education
• Drink Less Alcohol
• Quit Smoking Now
• Reduce Stress Overall
• Reduce Stress at Work
• Take a Trip
• Volunteer to Help Others
• Send health-e-Cards for Holidays and New Year

If you need help or advice with keeping your New Year's resolution, Amazon offers resources for its Top 10 resolutions.