By Jackie Faiman

January 1 begins a new calendar year, and for many of us, it is a symbolic fresh start. We vow to lose weight, exercise more, or launch a saving plan, only to fail when the going gets tough. Why is it so hard to stick with a New Year’s resolution, and how can we get better at this challenge?

A resolution is really a change in habit. We are asking ourselves to step off a well-worn path onto a new one of our own making, and this takes consistent, daily effort. It is hard, but derailment is not inevitable.

First, we must choose our resolution wisely; it should be small enough in scope that it is achievable. This is where modest aspirations trump grand, heroic ones. We may have many aspects of our life that we wish to improve, but we should pick one—just one—that matters and focus on it.

Second, we should be specific enough in our resolution that we know what we are aiming for. “Lose 10 pounds by the end of April” is a better bet than “get skinny in a hurry.” The former provides a specific number and timeline, which, in turn, can be broken down into daily, actionable steps.

Third, we need to define a daily behavior shift (new habit!) that will help us achieve our longer-term goal. For the weight loss resolution, it might be “cut 500 calories a day by making one a meal a salad.” To help ourselves automate this daily shift, according to James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits, we should minimize the barriers to enacting it. Make it obvious, attractive, easy, and immediately satisfying.  For the salad proposition, that might mean having bags of freshly chopped vegetables front and center in the fridge and choosing ingredients that are so tasty that eating them daily would be a joy.

Fourth, allow for failure. We all have bad days, and instead of letting them compromise an entire plan, see them as a necessary part of behavior change. One strategy that incorporates grace into a resolution is to build into our monthly schedule a specific number of “cheat” days. We are then acknowledging that we are only human by giving ourselves license for an occasional off day.

Finally, involve a social support structure into the resolution. Having a regular workout buddy makes it much more likely that we will show up to the gym. Talking to a friend about our goal and progress toward it keeps us accountable. There is even evidence to suggest that helping another person to reach a similar goal, even if we are struggling with it ourselves, helps us accomplish it.

Engaging these strategies can strengthen our commitment to a New Year’s resolution and make the journey both achievable and fun.