Every year, millions of people make New Year’s resolutions in attempt to spark a positive change.

The top ten most common resolutions are:

1. Eating healthier/losing weight
2. Getting more exercise
3. Save more/spend less money
4. Focus on self-care
5. Read more
6. Make new friends
7. Spend more time with friends and family
8. Learn a new skill
9. Get a new job
10. Take up a new hobby

Which goals have you tried to implement in a new year? Statistics show that only about 8% of people actually follow through with their resolutions for the whole year.

So what goes wrong? What causes people to give up?

Often, people treat a marathon like a sprint. An entire year is a long time to make and keep a habit, and you have a plan for a lifestyle change, not just a temporary change. With this comes too much thinking and not enough doing, and being in too much of a hurry to see results. So much now is instant that people struggle with going with the flow and being patient.

Another major reason that New Year’s resolutions fail is because people don’t have any social support. If you don’t tell people you’re trying to make a change, no one will be able to encourage you to keep your goals. This can cause you to not believe in yourself and become unmotivated.

Making smaller New Year’s resolutions that seem more attainable have been proven to last longer throughout the year, so if you want to try making a change in 2019, think about exploring smaller options.

Enjoy the process, and may your New Year’s resolutions continue through 2019!