Glance back before looking ahead: nail your fitness goals this year! People wrongly assume that they'll simply decide to change their lives and everything will fall into place.

For millions, January 1 means New Year's resolutions. While many of us will resolve to change our behavior--lose weight, eat healthier, get in shape, or exercise more--the sad truth is that by mid-February most of our good intentions have fallen by the wayside.

Part of the problem may be that we don't examine our past behavior before setting goals. Personal histories offer valuable insights into the biggest obstacles standing in our way. Read on to learn how you can harness the power of your past to achieve your fitness goals.

Examine Shortcomings 

If you've failed in the past, the idea of examining those shortcomings may not exactly appeal to you. Yet studying those experiences will help you create a future plan, says psychologist Howard Rankin, author of Inspired to Lose: Motivational Stories From North America's Weight Loss Support Group (Stepwise, 2001).

"The best predictor, in many ways, of future behavior is past behavior," says Rankin. "I tell people their history is not a jailer. It's an educator."

To get a handle on your earlier experiences, ask yourself questions such as:

* When have I been successful?

* When have I been able to make this work?

* When it doesn't work, what stops me?

* Do I run out of gas or lose my motivation?

* Do I let other people sabotage my efforts?

* Do I get bored?

* Do I become scared when I start becoming successful?

"There are a million possibilities, and it's important to address those things and try to change them in the next attempt," advises Rankin. "Lifestyle change is just like anything else. It takes practice before you get it right."

People wrongly assume that they'll simply decide to change their lives and everything will fall into place. "It doesn't really work like that. It works by trying and having some success and continuing to go back to it. People learn by trial and success, not by trial and error."

What's Your Pleasure?

The next step in setting and meeting fitness goals this year is figuring out what you enjoy doing. "If you really want to change your behavior, typically you should ... start digging in for yourself," reports John Kimiecik, Ph.D., a professor at Miami University who specializes in exercise motivation. "I call that 'exercising from the inside out.'" Kimiecik is the author of The Intrinsic Exerciser: Discovering the Joy of Exercise (Houghton Mifflin, 2002).

Ask yourself how you want to feel when you exercise, advises Kimiecik. Do you prefer working out alone or with others? Do you like team sports? Do you enjoy higher-intensity activities, or are lower ones more your style? What kinds of activities did you enjoy as a child? Think back to when you were more active and what it felt like, and ask how you can relive that experience. Ponder these questions before you begin your workout program, and you'll be more likely to stick with it.

Make Your Plan

Simply deciding to reshape your body isn't enough. You need to create a strategy. "People tend to make hollow low resolutions," says Rankin. "They have a plan that 'I'm going to do this,' but they really haven't thought out in great detail how they're actually going to do it" Will you eliminate desserts? Exercise four mornings a week? Lift weights at the gym on Tuesday and Thursday nights?

You also need to determine how you'll handle obstacles. If you travel frequently for work, you might plan to tuck exercise bands or other workout gear in your suitcase. Try to stay at hotels with gyms. If you tend to snack when anxious, make a list of other activities you can do instead. Remember, you need a plan. "People think they'll just deal with it as it comes up, but unfortunately, you can't just wing it when it comes to habits," says Rankin. "If it were that easy to change, no one would have a problem!"

While long-term goals are valuable, you should include lesser goals as well. "Motivation ebbs and flows. People need to keep the motivation in the forefront of their mind," Rankin says. "It's important to have a big-picture goal. But it is also important to almost micromanage it and have very significant short-term goals." By focusing on these smaller benchmarks, you'll stay mindful of what you're doing and increase your chances of success.

Let's say you've decided to lose 15 pounds. If you make short-term goals to eat less than 35 grams of fat a day and to work out for half an hour five days a week, you may not achieve your overall objective right away. But if you keep hammering away at those short-term goals, the weight will begin to come off.

Change Your Mind-set

It may not be enough to simply add regular workouts to your routine to ensure long-term success. Your attitude has to change as well. "You cannot become a regular exerciser unless you go through some fairly serious mental transformations about how you view yourself and how you view exercise," says Kimiecik. "If you view exercise solely as a vehicle to get you down the road somewhere, you're setting yourself up for big-time failure, because you're not developing the mental and emotional skills that you need to actually enjoy the experience."

However, when you enjoy exercise for its own sake, you become intrinsically motivated--motivated from the inside out. "You're actually doing the behavior for its own sake, for the pure enjoyment of the experience," says Kimiecik. "The feelings you have right before, during, and after exercise are really important."

So how do you develop that intrinsic motivation? By selecting physical activities that you enjoy. Maybe it's signing up for a kickboxing class, using an exercise tape several times a week, or joining friends for a long walk each weekend. Whatever makes you feel good is what will work. You'll be amazed at how much fun exercise can be when you're not dreading another boring workout.

Make this your year for nailing your fitness goals. Begin by revisiting your past and getting in touch with your likes and dislikes. Then create an enjoyable plan, follow it, and reap the results.

Identify Your Biggest Obstacle

Call them excuses, reasons, obstacles--it doesn't matter. What's stopping you from achieving your fitness goals? Answer True or False to each of the following questions:

T [] F [] My to-do list is never-ending. Between job, family, and other responsibilities, I just simply don't have time.

T [] F [] I tend to start exercise plans with enthusiasm, but if I miss a day or two, I give up.

T [] F [] I'm constantly saying that I'm going to lose weight or get in shape, but I never do it.

T [] F [] My spouse or partner doesn't exercise, so he/she doesn't understand why it's so important to me.

T [] F [] I'd love to stick to a regular exercise program, but I just can't.

T [] F [] If I had a little more willpower, I could meet my fitness goals.

T [] F [] I'm not a big planner. I like to do things on the spur of the moment.

T [] F [] I always put the needs of my family before my own.

If you answered True to numbers 1 and 5, time is your obstacle. Look for ways to build fitness activities into your daily life--walking the stairs at lunchtime or circling the field during your daughter's soccer game. Begin getting up a half hour earlier to walk or exercise.

If you answered True to 2 and 6, your perfectionism is getting in your way. Don't commit to a program you can't maintain. If you miss a day or two, don't abandon exercise altogether. Simply pick up where you left off.

If you answered True to 3 and 7, you're suffering from a bad case of lack of planning. Schedule workouts on your calendar, and stick to your program. Once you've molded a fitness activity into a habit, it will become second nature to you.

If you answered True to 4 and 8, lack of family support may be your issue. Talk to your spouse or partner, and let him/her know how important your workouts are to your overall well-being. Explain to the kids how important fitness is, and then search for activities the family can enjoy together.

Kelly James-Enger makes all of her New Year's resolutions in Downers Grove, Illinois This article originally appeared in Energy for Women magazine.