Take the Pressure Off: How to Set Realistic New Year’s Resolutions

It happens every year. When you sit down on New Year's Eve to jot down a few resolutions for the coming year, you realize many of them carried over from the year before. And the year before that. And the year before that.

Most of us have revolving resolutions, goals we set at the beginning of the year that we never get around to accomplishing – losing weight, getting a college degree, quitting smoking, running a marathon. Big stuff that we just can't seem to get done, but don't want to give up on either.

The advent of a new year is filled with promise and expectation; it's almost as if we get one giant fresh start. It is a liberating time, which lends itself to making resolutions that may not be realistic in the context of our lives.

It's not that you can't accomplish anything you want to, it's just that you have a better chance to attain goals this year if they are set in reality. Here are three tips to setting appropriate New Year's resolutions:

1. Break It Down. There are many steps on the path to achieving a goal. If your resolution is to lose twenty-five pounds this year, you'll first have to lose pound number one. When you focus on the goal of twenty-five pounds lost, it can be overwhelming – so much so that you might wait until August to start a weight loss program!Breaking down your New Year's resolution is one way to ensure you will actually be able to accomplish it. So, instead of writing down "lose twenty-five pounds this year," you might write, "lose two pounds a month." Two pounds a month is more than doable; it can be achieved by making small changes.

Breaking down the New Year's resolution also helps you realize when your goal is not doable in one year. Perhaps you will need two years, or three or four. If that's the case, write down a resolution that will get you part of the way there.

2. Make Room. Once you have your resolutions set, it's time to make room for them in your life. Let's use the example of setting a resolution to honor your creative self. Perhaps you have always wanted to learn photography and you would like to take a class at a nearby college. Your next step is to identify how much time this new endeavor will take and where you can fit it into your schedule.

If you determine you just don't have the time to take a class twice a week at the college, look for a class that only meets once a week. Keep modifying the goal until you can make it work in your life without having to make sweeping changes. When the process of attaining a goal seems too difficult or stressful, the resolution will surely return to next year's list.

3. Get Support. Involving family and friends in your resolutions is an excellent way to ensure you accomplish your goal. A support network can help you make room in your schedule by babysitting or taking over one of your household tasks.

Assemble a team of people to support you and cheer you on. Accountability is a huge motivator. By letting even one person in on your goal, you create accountability. Even better, getting a buddy to work on the resolution with you is a fun way to improve your chances of keeping your resolve.

Remember the Chinese proverb, "the journey of 1,000 miles begins with one step." Setting smaller resolutions increases your chances of attaining them and gets you closer to the goal. Set realistic, doable resolutions and then get the time and support you need to accomplish them. By next New Year's Eve, you'll have made room for new resolutions, which is a lot more fun than recommitting to the old ones!