We all fall victim to the same vicious cycle every year. The year ends and all the resolutions we promised we’d stick to the year before fall far behind us. According to the Huffington Post, only 8% of people actually keep their New Year’s resolutions.

Usually, the resolutions are set in place to better ourselves. We noticed something, or somethings, about ourselves that we wanted to change or improve. Sometimes, resolutions are set in place to accomplish a goal like the infamous “I’m going to lose weight.” Some goals are lofty and when you think about it, they’re not really realistic. We ignore these facts anyway, and proceed to set ourselves up for failure.

There’s just something about January 1^st that makes people optimistic. January 1^st serves as an opportunity for everyone to start over. Everyone likes to start over at one point in their life. The new year is a new beginning.

Instead of saying things like “I’m going to cut carbs out of my diet,” or “I’m going to meet the man I will marry this year,” try setting smaller, more attainable goals such as “I’m going to eat pasta once a week instead of my usual bowl for dinner every night,” or “I’m going to put myself out there and meet more people.”

One thing I’ve noticed about myself is that if I set a lofty goal and it takes a while to achieve it, I get really discouraged. Discouragement can cause a total derailing in your New Year’s resolutions, and it can make you feel awful about yourself.

Some examples of some questions that may help you form your New Year’s resolutions are:

• What is one bucket list item you want to cross off this year?
• Where have you always wanted to visit?
• What talent do you want to develop?
• What do you want to spend less time doing?
• What is your biggest pet peeve about yourself?

You can look at New Year’s resolutions and get anxious– that’s common. By making smaller, more specific goals, it seems a lot less overwhelming to take on. New Year’s resolutions are good things, and they’re proof that humanity wants to constantly improve.

2018 is going to be a great year, and we can conquer it all.