You’re human, which means you’ve broken a New Year’s resolution at least once or twice. Chances are you’ve buried your annual list of goals for self improvement in a deep, confetti-filled grave more times than you'd care to admit. Hey, it happens to the best of us.

Ultra-busy reality has a pesky habit of firing back up by mid-January and that “New Year, New Me” enthusiasm tends to fizzle out, leaving us feel defeated and depressed. Boo.

"Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual."

MARK TWAIN

The problem isn’t that we suck at achieving goals, it’s that we suck at setting them. More often than not, our New Year’s resolutions are actually setting us up to fail by being too unattainable. We try to take on too much and then beat ourselves up come February when we finally throw in the towel and settle back into our old ways. So what if this year we set ourselves up for success?

Set monthly resolutions

Forget about where you want to be by next December and focus on the next few weeks. If you want to get healthier (one of the most commonly broken resolutions), quit thinking about the number on the scale, and put your energy into making healthy choices for the month of January. Try something small, like cutting out alcohol for two weeks. When the finish line is close in sight, the more likely you are to stay motivated to keep going.

Make a schedule

Take a good look at your calendar and block out the time needed to focus on your goal(s). Break bigger goals into smaller steps and allot small increments of time for each one. Set reminders in your phone. Make achieving your resolution a part of your regular to-do list, bit by bit. If your resolution is to save money, transfer a small amount of cash into a savings account every week. If you’re trying to get a new job, set aside 15 minutes to a half hour a day to search for new opportunities. Be accountable and remember, slow and steady wins the race.

Be kind to yourself

This is the most important tip of all. Okay, so maybe you skipped the gym and binged on fro-yo instead. Or you procrastinated on a few of your key to-dos. So what? Whatever you do, DO NOT beat yourself up. When we make ourselves feel bad for slipping up, we only make it easier to give up completely. Be kind. Allow yourself this obstacle and get back on track tomorrow. You've got this!

Image courtesy of Eonline.com