Every year on January 1st, millions of people make resolutions to better themselves in the coming year. Yet almost 80% of us fail to achieve them. This can be chalked up to the fact that we tend to set unrealistic goals – think losing an abundance of weight or giving up junk food – and ultimately, set ourselves up for failure.

How to stick to your New Year’s Resolutions

Be Realistic

First, unattainable goals are often the enemy of achievable resolutions. Be sure to set smaller, short-term goals to help you achieve a long-term goal. Consider using S.M.A.R.T. goals.
A S.M.A.R.T. goal is defined as one that is specific, measurable, achievable, results-focused, and timely.

Specific: it’s important to clearly define what you are going to do. Your goal should be action-oriented. This is the What, Why, and How of your goal.
Measurable: make your goal calculable and gaugeable. Ask yourself how will you know you’ve succeeded and how much change needs to happen.
Attainable: ask yourself whether this goal is reasonable? Is it too easy or too hard?
Realistic: it’s important that your goal be meaningful to you. We’re more likely to accomplish something when it’s something we want rather than what someone else wants.
Timely: goals are more likely to be successful when we set them in a one- to two-week window. Set your goal and set a deadline that you can achieve.

Develop a Support Network

Second, friends, family, and colleagues can all help you – talk to them about what you’re planning to do and tell them how they can help.

Measure Your Successes

Further, stay motivated by measuring how far you’ve come each week. This will help you realize how small changes can make a big difference.

Reward Yourself

Next, celebrate when you succeed with a treat, which doesn’t necessarily have to be the thing you’re trying to avoid. You might reward the first month of your successful diet with a night at the cinema, for example.

Treat Failure as a Small Setback

Equally, if you slip and break your diet, forget to exercise, or break your resolution, don’t despair! Learn from the setback: what situations made you slip? Can you avoid them next time? Don’t obsess over small setbacks – it won’t help you achieve your goal. Start fresh the next day. Be self-compassionate.

Make Your Resolution Stick

Finally, after a couple of weeks, the changes you’ve made will become a habit and part of your routine, so don’t be discouraged if you’re still finding it hard after the first week. Stick to it and it will only get easier!