45% of Americans make a New Years resolution in January. A New Years resolution is a change a person decides to make towards a personal goal for the new year, a chance everyone has to redefine themselves.

The challenge is keeping them.

Studies have shown only 8% of New Years resolutions are actually kept throughout the whole year. Most people make the resolution and give up around three weeks later. Usually this is because it’s too big a jump in their lifestyle. Continuous behavior does not happen over night. Fitness related solutions are the most popular among Americans, and they aim high, but it is better to start small no matter what the resolution is.

First, choose one goal for the year to focus your energy on. You can use the acronym SMART to define your goal for yourself and make it rock solid.

The S in SMART stands for specific: choose a specific goal for yourself.

The M stands for measurable: your goal should be quantifiable to track progress.

The A stands for attainable: don’t try and take over the world in one night.

R in SMART stands for realistic: set a goal realistic to your life individually.

The last letter is T. T stands for time based: your goal should have an end date.

Make a plan to use small day-to-day steps for how you will achieve this goal fully, and the time when each step of your goal will be accomplished. Creating new habits takes time and energy. In this plan, write down obstacles that will get in the way of achieving this final resolution. Also, make yourself accountable by writing a verbal commitment to your goal. This will encourage you to keep your resolution through the year–and hopefully longer! Each attempt towards your goal is a lesson learned for yourself. When you hit a bump in the road, take a minute to think about what didn’t work, it is another step towards your goal. Small improvements are more likely to get you further towards your goal than dramatic changes.

There are many resolutions to choose from, some more popular than others. A common resolution of 2020 is to stop smoking and juuling, according to a Lafayette teacher and student. “To live more in the moment by less phone time and by not letting little things bother me,” is the resolution for Lafayette teacher Sean Smith. Smith explained that he thinks most people fail at their resolutions, “Because its hard when you don’t have a plan, you cant stop a habit at the drop of a dime.”

Another student (who wished to remain anonymous) suggested that people fail their new years resolutions because they are “simply lazy.”

A helpful strategy for finding success is t0 find someone with a similar goal, so you can both encourage each other. For example, suppose you’re trying to get in shape or lose weight, or both. You could join CrossFit where everyone works together during each workout, even though everyone is at a difference pace and strength. If you’re planning on eating healthier start out slowly with replacing some of your favorite junk foods with healthier foods and increase over time.

But most of all, be consistent!