We hear the same thing year after year: “New Year, New Me.” Billions of people make New Year’s Resolutions to help them work towards bettering themselves. I think that no matter how many items you write on a list of things that you want to accomplish in a given year, the motivation comes from within yourself.

January first may seem like a great generic starting time to eat healthier, work out more, give back to your community, spend more time with family; the list could go on and on. However, I think that the only way that these things can be accomplished is when the person is motivated from within.

Whether that spark comes on a random day in the middle of May, or some other random time, setting resolutions just because it’s New Years when you feel like you should isn’t a good time to start. I’ve found that when I think of things I want to work on each year, they tend to be the same few things, regardless of the time.

According to a 2017 YouGov survey, the top three resolutions year after year were eating healthier, getting more exercise, and saving more money.

I’ve discovered from wanting the same things every year that I end up giving up on these same few goals because I think I’ll just add them as next year’s goals. Living in this constant cycle has led me to just become more unmotivated.

Instead, I think it would be more effective to act on certain goals the instant that they pop into your minds. If I want to workout more, it’s a lot more effective to book a workout class in the moment instead of pushing it off. Taking a little step like this makes the whole task at hand a lot more manageable. When I’m feeling good after this workout, I would be more enticed to maybe book another class for later in the week.

This goes for everything, as many people have such high expectations for all that they

want to accomplish. I think that the smaller actions will form productive habits and help people change their lifestyle gradually.

According to Psychology Today, studies showed that 71 percent of people who were successful in their resolutions slipped up and made a mistake in the first month.

This shows that at the end of the day, we are all human beings who make mistakes. It’s how you handle making that mistake that matters. As 2020 approaches, think of some things you would like to accomplish and more importantly, the small steps you can take to set you on the right track.