At the beginning of every year, millions of people around the globe take time to think about and set  New Year’s Resolutions. The start of a new year is the perfect time to set new goals for yourself. With a blank slate in front of you, there are plenty of opportunities for you to take charge of your life by setting goals that will get you to where you want to be.. 

The only struggle? Sticking to those resolutions. 

At the beginning of the year, people tend to be freshly motivated to accomplish their goals. However, as the year progresses, the motivation can fade, you can get distracted by your day-to-day life and get sidetracked from goals you have set. 

To help you set your goals (and achieve them), here are a few tips:

• Be Specific – Often, one of the biggest problems people encounter is having too “broad” of a goal for the year. If your goal is to “read more,” you should set a specific number of books or pages you want to read during a specific period of time. This will help you have reachable benchmarks to strive for. 

• Keep your List Small – If you make a list with 10 to 12 goals for the year, you’ll quickly find yourself overwhelmed by trying to maintain all of them. Instead, pick one or two primary goals to focus your energy on!

• Patience and Kindness – No matter how hard you try, every day isn’t going to be perfect. When you have a difficult day, it can be easy to become discouraged. Just remember that these goals aren’t about perfection, or creating instant change. Progress happens at many different speeds, and when you hit a bump in the road, the best thing you can do is be kind to yourself, and be patient. You can always start again the next day! 

What are your New Year’s Resolutions?