With the new year quickly approaching, it's that time where people begin thinking about their New Year’s Resolutions. Instead of telling yourself to go to the gym, lose weight, or quit a bad habit, pledge to do something that you can stick to for more than a week.

Take the basic "new year, new me" out of your vocabulary for 2018.

You don't need to resort to becoming a new person, especially when that is an unrealistic goal. In place of making a goal to reinvent yourself, make your resolution to put yourself first.

Something I have realized a lot lately is that while there are many selfish people in this world, there are also a lot who let others take advantage of them, intentionally or not. While it’s a great thing to be a giving and caring person, sometimes you have to be selfish. If you can't put yourself first, how can you expect others to put you first?

It's important to recognize that by putting yourself first it doesn't mean you don't care about others. It means that you're smart enough to know that you can't help others if you don't first help yourself.

We, as humans, spend so much time making other people and their needs a priority that we forget that we too are important. It's necessary to have this self-realization. You have to see that you need to do things for you without feeling guilty for focusing your attention on yourself.

Even if your choices hurt someone else in the process, if you are doing what is best for you and your health then you shouldn't think twice about doing it. When you put so much of yourself into helping others, you are giving pieces of you to them, and therefore losing yourself in the process. Find the person you once were, the person you want to be.

Quit living your life at the whim of others and start living it for yourself. By putting yourself first, it does not mean that you should never do anything for others; however, when you say “yes” to others, make sure you aren't saying “no” to yourself. Always putting yourself last leads to loss of happiness in your own life, so put yourself first and do some things for yourself so that you can be happy.

Make it your goal this year to never live another day compromising or sacrificing yourself if it will jeopardize your own happiness.