Many of us start the New Year having a New Year’s Resolution. Unfortunately, many of us are unable to keep it up.  My advice is to try to make a change of any kind, big or small.  As long as we make a small change it gives us the motivation to continue to strive to reach our goal. While it is important to be ambitious when we set goals for ourselves, we need to set realistic expectations regarding how and when we reach those goals. If we are unable to find the right balance between ambitious goals and realistic expectations, we can end up feeling despondent, which can hamper our motivation.  

Only 8% of people who make resolutions end up actually keeping them!  Try to be within that percentage of people who keep their resolutions by setting practical expectations about how to attain each goal.  Also, remember that if your goal includes changing an old habit, it will take longer to achieve your goal because you are undoing a habit while simultaneously trying to start a new one.  It takes 3 weeks to start a habit but undoing one takes longer.

If you do decide to set a New Year’s Resolution goal, it may be helpful to try to remember that changing a habit is difficult so forgive yourself if you are unable to meet your expectations right away so that negative emotions such as guilt and disappointment don’t get in the way and hamper your motivation to be one of the people in the 8% of those who achieve their goals!