Most don't plan on making resolutions

POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y., Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Finding a better job and becoming a better person top the list of New Year's resolutions for Americans who intend to make a resolution this year.

A poll released by the by the Marist Institute in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., Wednesday found that only 34 percent of U.S. adults plan to make a New Year's resolution, down from 39 percent.

Women who said they will make resolutions said they wanted to be a better person, get a better job or to lose weight. Men wanted to get a better job, lose weight or exercise more.

But if people do make resolutions they stand a good chance of keeping them. Of those who said they remembered making a resolution last year, 61 percent said they kept it.

For those making resolutions, SparkPeople.com, a leading weight-loss Web site, recommends writing the resolution down; making a deadline; never saying "never" or "always;" leaving room for failure; tracking progress and rewarding success.