Every New Year is a new chance and opportunity for each one of us to start afresh, set goals, focus our efforts, learn from our mistakes and work towards achieving our objectives and improving ourselves in every aspect. It is customary now to make new year resolutions but if you look back at last year, you probably made several resolutions which you later forgot and today you are more or less the same person you were last year. Worry not however, since the New Year is upon us, this is your chance to redo everything you couldn’t do last year, so follow these tips to ensure that you achieve your New Year’s resolutions this time around.

Make sure you really want to change or do something

Most people make the mistake of setting resolutions following other people or just going with whatever sounds ‘good’. There is no doubt that quitting smoking is a good resolution but before you go about deciding to make it your goal for the new year, you must actually be prepared to quit smoking. If you are not in the right frame of mind, there is no point to it. Hence, it is advised that you first sit down, list all the ‘good’ things you want to do this year and then mark those which you are really willing to work on and agree with.

Break everything down into small steps

Let’s suppose you want to lose weight this year. While this is no doubt a valid resolution and one that will benefit you, you must break it down into small steps to actually achieve it. First of all you need to decide how much weight you exactly need to lose. Putting a number on it will help you visualize a goal and progress towards it. Next you will need to divide your weight loss project into time chunks. For instance, setting a target of 5 pounds in the first 50 days is less daunting as opposed to starting the year thinking you need to lose 40 pounds. Breaking the projects down will give you real, achievable goals to work on and consequently improve your chances of achieving them.

Take help from friends and family

Once you have decided on the things you wish to achieve this year and set up a plan for them, it is time that you tell your close friends and family members about it. It is very important that you take all the help you can get because support systems keep you afloat when things go down. However, be mindful that if you are not true to your own goals, no one can force you to work for them. Moreover, your own lack of commitment will also put others off and they will stop taking you seriously in the future.

Remember, setting resolutions for the New Year is important but they need to be realistic, beneficial for you and actually capable of being achieved. The simpler, more broken down your objectives are, the more likely you are to meet them.