A New Year’s resolution is a popular thought in which people promise themselves or others to change a behavior or accomplish a new goal for the new year. For example, some might say, “For the new year, I am going to drink more water, eat healthy, and workout everyday”. Although most people genuinely want to make a change in their life, a majority end up giving up a few weeks in, succumbing to their natural routines.

Many studies show that only about 8% of people actually accomplish their resolutions. That is because those people set goals that they know they can keep. If someone spends most of their time drinking coffee, drinking pop, and eating fast food, then it will be harder for them to change their habits and have a healthy lifestyle. Therefore, in order to keep a resolution, people must set goals that they know they are capable of. By taking small steps to a bigger goal, a person is more likely to make actual changes in their life. For example, a person can slowly decrease their coffee intake each day until they stop drinking it for good, rather than suddenly laying off of it.

Junior Ladurian Hawthorne has created himself a few goals he wants to meet for 2020. He has began drinking cucumber and lemon water to clear his acne, working out at the YMCA to gain some muscle mass, and working harder to maintain his good grades.

“I try to be consistent with going to the YMCA most days after school. However, some days I am so busy with plans or homework that I do not make time to go. I am going to work on managing my time better so that I can achieve my goals,” said Hawthorne.

People also must have a clear plan for how they are going to obtain this new goal. For example, if they’re goal is to save more money for the year, they must have a plan. They must ask themself: How will I make money? What are some things I can do to make it easier for me? What are some things I can cut out of my life? If they make an outline of exactly how they will follow their new goals, they are much more likely to succeed.

People can also simply do weekly or daily check-ins to review their progress. This will help them stay on track, while also allowing them to change their steps to ensure that they can achieve their goals. With frequents checks, the goals will soon become a habit and natural to their everyday routine.

Consistency is the overall key on getting results. It may take some time to see some change, which is why most people end up giving up their goals, but if they are consistent with their work, they can absolutely reach their goals.