New Year’s Eve is truly the last day to drink and eat to your heart’s desire. Once the clock strikes midnight, all the resolutions kick in: “I am going to stop drinking”, “I am going to lose all my holiday weight”, “I am going to actually go to the gym.”

And more often than not, these resolutions don’t stay too long. Obviously, change is hard, while cheat days are so easy.

People make too many New Year’s resolutions. It is best to make one and stick to it as best as you can rather than making the same ten resolutions every year and failing at all of them. One year can be about eating healthier while the next year can be about going to the gym more. Or if you focus on going to the gym, you will automatically be inclined to eating healthier. You can group similar resolutions together, but trying to accomplish a bunch of resolutions is just hard.

Taking quantitative steps is always key. Do not tell yourself you are going to lose weight; set yourself a goal weight you want to hit each month and keep yourself accountable for it. Tell yourself you want to lose two pounds every month. If you lose more than that, then good for you. If you are trying to stop drinking, you can take some small steps. Maybe reduce the amount you drink each time until you can eventually become sober or reach your goal.

It is also important to set realistic goals. It is easy to give up if you’re reaching too high. If you have friends or family with the same resolutions, they can join your journey. You can be accountable for each other and make sure you guys both stay on track. You can even keep each other motivated and encourage each other to stick to your resolutions.

You need to remember to celebrate! If you manage to eat healthy all month, maybe you can have a cheat day at the end of the month, and then go back on track the next day.

Focus on how you can change your past behaviors to improve yourself. You can’t keep doing the same thing and expect results to show up. For example, your mind needs to adapt before your body can. If you tell yourself you can lose weight, then you should adhere to that and make sure you exercise regularly and eat healthier.

Finally, just because you haven’t had any progress on your resolution does not mean you have to wait till the next year to start all over again. It is always a good time to eat healthier and go to the gym. It doesn’t only have to start on January 1. If you’re off track, you can always veer yourself back, no matter what month it is. Don’t dismiss it, but instead, take it as an opportunity and use it as a fresh start as a second chance on your resolution. If you believe you can do it, then you can definitely do it!