Psychotherapist Robin Dilley of Phoenix, author of "In a Moment's Notice: A Psychologist's Journey with Breast Cancer," suggests thinking of a New Year's resolution as a heart goal: "What is it you want with all of your heart to change in order to feel better about yourself and your abilities?"

After you've defined your heart goal, these steps can put you on track to becoming a better you in body, mind and soul in 2012:

Add action to intention

"A resolution is really an intention with an action plan," Dilley says. "Without the action plan, you're not going to achieve your goals."

You may start, for example, with a vague wish for good health. She calls that a low-resolution wish.

"Just like in photography," she says, "the more pixels, the better the quality and clarity. The more intention someone invests in his or her goal, the sharper, the clearer it is, the better the chance of success."

Get specific

Ask yourself what your goal means to you. If it's "I want good health," the answer may be obvious for a person with diabetes, heart disease or another condition. But if you want to turn decent health into optimal health, determine what exactly that means to you (a lower body-mass index, perhaps, or the energy to swim 20 laps).

Evaluate where you are now, where you want to be and which first, second and third steps will get you there. What will be different for you when you get there?

Choose measurable goals

"If goals are too general, we won't even know if we've met them," Dilley says. "We'll feel like we failed, and we'll lose interest and stop trying."

So instead of saying you want to lose weight, consider setting a goal of eating fast food less frequently, adding vegetables to your diet or exercising.

Be realistic. Aim for small, daily steps, such as skipping junk food one day in the first week, putting tomato slices in your sandwich or walking to the corner and back. Think about the specific benefits you'll reap from completing each step.

"If I don't know the benefits," Dilley says, "then I don't have the motivation."

Keep a journal

In the journal, write one small goal for each day that will help you reach your heart goal. Then on a scale of 1 to 10, rate yourself each night on how successful you were in reaching that goal. If you give yourself a 3, make note of what might help you get to a 5.

Reflect on your obstacles, too, listing factors that might be getting in the way of success. What isn't working, and why? What can you do to overcome each obstacle?

Reinforce your goals

At least once a week, read a well-researched newspaper, magazine or online article related to your resolution. Find out what the experts say or what people who share your goal have experienced when it comes to reducing headaches, for example, or managing blood-sugar levels or dealing with depression.

Watching "The Dr. Oz Show," which covers topics that range from battling fatigue to adding nutritious foods to your diet, is another good way to reinforce your goals, Dilley says. The You Docs column, co-written by Dr. Mehmet Oz, appears weekly in the Healthy Living section of The Republic.

Buddy up

Find a doctor who will listen, a blog you can post to regularly or a friend to call when you feel the urge to smoke or skip the gym.

"A support system keeps you on track," Dilley says. "If good health is your primary goal for the year, finding a doctor you like and can talk with could become your first goal of the year. A doctor who's invested in your well-being, someone you can ask what you need to do to be in optimal health, would be ideal."

Look into your future

"It's important to be able to see yourself as you want to be," Dilley says. "Guided imagery and visualization give you a concrete way to do that, like seeing your blood pressure numbers at 120 over 70."

Listen to a guided-imagery CD three times a week to picture yourself 10 pounds lighter, hiking a mountain trail or drug-free. She likes Health Journeys (healthjourneys.com) for its research-grounded CDs on topics including stress reduction, pain management, addiction, weight loss and healthy sleep.

Pace yourself

"You won't be able to do everything at once," Dilley says. "There'll always be overachievers who want to tackle 10 goals at once, but I would recommend working on no more than three at a time."

Depending on how ambitious your goals are, you even may choose to start with one -- or even just one step toward achieving it. Add another step or another resolution as you make headway, and you won't be as likely to lose momentum and give up.

Re-evaluate

At three-month intervals, review your journal, feelings and progress toward reaching your daily and weekly goals.

Dilley suggests asking yourself how close you are to reaching your goals and how realistic they are. What's working or not working? Is it time to tweak a resolution or action plan? What new steps should be added? Have you gone as far as you can? Where do you want to be in the next three months?

And don't forget to look at your successes. "Your weight loss is one pound at a time," she says. "Your exercise program is one step at a time." Each one counts.

Redefine setbacks

"Don't think about setbacks as failures," Dilley says. "Think about them as information. Information gives us permission to tweak what is not working for us and add or subtract a part of our plan to help us become successful at our goal."

Start over

After reaching an intermediate three-month goal, starting over can give you renewed hope. Think of it as beginning Chapter 2 of "Be a Better You."

Reach the reporter at 602-444-8120 or connie.midey@arizonarepublic.com.