It’s almost a given you’ll make a list of New Year’s Resolutions for 2015, ones you hope you’ll finally be able to stick to and see through to the end.  Some can be easy, like making new friends at school, and some can be quite difficult, like losing the holiday weight you put on or putting out your addiction to smoking (no pun intended).  No matter what your resolutions are, there are easy ways to stick to them.  Here are just a few.

Start small.  Don’t make resolutions you know you won’t be able to keep; make ones that are achievable to you.  For example, if your resolution is to lose weight or exercise more frequently, schedule three or four days at the local gym, or times after dinner you can go out for a walk or run with a friend.

Change one behavior at a time.  Unhealthy behaviors tend to develop over time, so replacing unhealthy behaviors with healthy behaviors will take time.  Don’t overwhelm yourself with wanting to change everything in your life; start with things that make sense and steadily work toward changing them, one at a time.

Talk about it.  Share your experiences and hopes to achieve a new you.  Join a local support group, such as a workout class at a gym or a group of friends that want to have better study habits.  Asking for help isn’t a bad thing when it comes to resolutions for the new year; if anything, it’s a good thing to do so because getting others involved that share the same goals can help you and benefit you more along the way.

Don’t beat yourself up.  You know you won’t be able to go from being a C- student to an A+ student in the course of a week or two.  Things take time, and it’s okay if it takes you a while to achieve your goals for 2015 so don’t worry about it if February comes and you’ve only managed to lose 10 pounds: you still have 11 months to lose the weight you want! Take a breath and remember Obama didn’t become president overnight, he had to work toward his goals, just like you do.

The main thing to remember is that you’re trying, and that’s a lot more than some people can say.  So keep your head up and know that, even though total perfection can never be achieved, you can achieve your New Year’s Resolutions as long as you remember to take it slow.  Don’t overwhelm yourself and try to change everything at once because it won’t work.  Go at your own pace, change things you know you’ll be able to change, and asking for help never killed anyone.