Tired of giving up on your New Year's Resolutions?

Year and year again, you have the same or similar resolutions for the perfect "new year, new you" recipe, yet year and year again - you fail to stick with, let alone accomplish, the change(s) you wanted to. If you're still reaching for the same goals or having trouble reaching new ones - these five steps will help you achieve and keep them!

• 1: Identify the common reasons people fail.
  
• 2: Create precise & obtainable goals.
  
• 3: Make daily/weekly/monthly milestones.
  
• 4: Share your goals and seek help.
• 5: Know that your resolutions shouldn't end with the new year.

Step 1: Identify The Common Reasons People Fail

You're not the only one to fail at achieving and/or keeping your New Year's Resolutions - that's okay, we've all done it. What's important here is being able to reflect back on exactly " Why?" you failed. Was it because:

• It was too much of a financial burden to achieve? (Are you willing to go broke for change?)
• Your goals were too unrealistic? (What are you actually trying to achieve?)
• You had the wrong perspective? (Did you come at every challenge with a negative attitude?)
• You tried doing it alone? (And it was too much by yourself?)
• You gave up too easily? (How hard did you really try?)

Step 2: Create Precise & Obtainable Goals

Okay, so we're going to assume that you've already created your New Year's Resolutions List - we're a few days in January and, honestly, it's probably best if you already did. 

This way you can look at your list again, re-evaluate your goals, and ask yourself: "Is this something I can truly accomplish by the end of 2019?"; "Are my goals too broad?"; and even "Is this something I truly want?" Are you setting realistic goals? Do you have the money and time to accomplish what you're after?

Other than that, make sure that your list is no more than three  goals - three is the ideal number for anyone with a busy lifestyle. Think about it, you're already going to be busy trying to achieve regular life, work, romantic, etc., goals. How are you going to achieve all of that and still have the energy to go running for 20-minutes a day?

Step 3: Make Daily/Weekly/Monthly Milestones

If you aim for "by 2020" - you'll never make it. Break down your goal into landmarks and award yourself when you reach these milestones. If you don't reach it in time, that's okay! Don't go around praising yourself about it. Instead, know how to use that as a note to adjust how you're achieving your goals. You might need to step it up or change direction all together!

I want to stress that the best part about setting regular goals for yourself, is that it'll make it so much easier to form a habit. Having to lose 50-lbs by 2020 sounds doable, but you're just creating more time for excuses to build. But having to lose 10 lbs by February, however, sounds a lot more achievable.

Step 4: Share Your Goals And Seek Help

Tell people about your goals for the upcoming year! It doesn't matter if it's your family/friends or an online community, just make sure that the people you tell - are people that will hold you accountable. Heck, there are a variety of apps nowadays that are specifically designed to help you keep track of your goals and even motivate you to complete them!

If possible, we recommend finding someone with a similar goal and work towards it together! It's not only easier to stay on task and focused, it becomes a lot more enjoyable when you have someone that can relate to your difficulties and successes as you make progress. Just whatever you do - don't do it alone or you'll find yourself quickly making excuses and losing focus/motivation to achieve your goals.

Step 5: Make It A Lifetime Habit

Now that you've achieved your goal, it's time to maintain it! Unless your goal was to lose 50-lbs and then put it back the following year, but let's be real - it's not. Yet, that's what will happen to most people! They'll reach their target goal, feel really accomplished, and then just stop.Do you think a football team stops practicing just because they won the Super Bowl? Would an Olympian athlete stop practicing just because they won a gold medal?

DON'T QUIT! DON'T STOP!

Honestly, by the time you reach your target goal, whatever you're doing to achieve it should already be a part of your normal routine by now - making it easier for you to maintain while shifting your focus to new goals and challenges. Now, take a couple of minutes to learn about the power of habits and willpower in the video below.