SOMEONE asked me on New Year's Eve if I had any resolutions. I thought about it and realised, apart from abandoning journalism for a lucrative career in nuclear physics, everything I wanted to change was pretty much the same as last year and the year before, and the year before that.

Give up smoking, see the world, get in touch with my university pals, buy some clothes that fit, make the effort to pull a comb through my hair in the mornings, have a wash, etc etc.

But let's face it, resolutions are made to break and if there are any smug members of the public who manage to tick off every one by the end of the year, I'll eat my too-small hat.

What's more likely to happen is a) we sit and think up resolutions, b) struggle to keep them for a few days, c) make ourselves miserable and d) lapse back into our old habits.

For most of us, most of the time, it's a losing battle.

But professional life coach, Helen Roberts, believes she harbours the vital formula to ensure every resolution can be kept without fail.

According to the wise one, we can all benefit from this simple procedure, with the key lying in the word "resolution".

Firstly, she suggests that upon making these promises, we should drop the "re" bit of the word and concentrate on the "solution".

She maintains that many clients benefit from this simple change to their thinking.

"People usually make resolutions because there is some aspect of their life that they want to change for the better," she said.

"However, instead of focusing on the great benefits they will achieve, they focus on what they are giving up. So they fail.

"Stop thinking about resolutions and start thinking about solutions."

She says you must think about how you will look, feel, and sound when you have found the solution.

"Don't think about what you are giving up, think about what you are gaining," she said.

"In this life you attract whatever it is you think about most.

"If you think about negative words like giving up, stopping, doing less, or changing something that you have enjoyed for years, then it is inevitable that your subconscious will rebel to ensure that it does not happen. "

Her motto is ''No success or failure, only results.''

"If the result is not what you planned, just change something and start again," she said.

Helen also points out why so many people get results they see as failures. Firstly, they try to change the habits of a lifetime overnight and the human mind and body doesn't work like that.

Secondly, they attempt to do it alone. The help and support of a non-judgmental and non-critical third party is crucial to a good outcome.

According to Helen, when it comes to resolutions, many clients who sign up to find out how to get the best out of life, often spend the first few sessions fully appreciating why they chose what they have chosen, and to examine their commitment to the change.

The coach will then persuade the client to define strategies for creating the change with small action steps that will bring them gradually closer to their goal.

Achieving solutions begins with setting them correctly and then having support to make them happen in a time scale that the mind and body can and will accept.

And there are no rules on when New Year solutions can be started. Helen believes the power of personal change is too good to be limited to a few days in January, especially as it really is possible to keep every resolution without fail.

For more information about Helen Roberts' services call 0870 262 6015 or visit her website at www.get-a-life-coach.co.uk

To peruse a few surefire resolutions, see www.how-to-keep-your-new-years-resolution.com

The people behind this site have come up with gems such as smile more (by embarking on a career in the fast food industry), feeling guilty (as opposed to not), quit smoking (despite never having lit up in your life) and so on.

But the site does have genuinely good tips on how to help medical science, give up smoking, lose the couch potato image, and generally get a grip on life.