With the end of the year comes the opportunity to reflect on the year we’ve had, but more important, to decide what we want the next year to be. We usually do this by creating resolutions, things that we want to do to better ourselves. Unfortunately, most resolutions these days take the form of things our ideal selves would do, things that we will inevitably have given up by the middle of February, if not sooner. So this year, I’ve decided I’m not going to make any resolutions.

Obviously, this is kind of a weird idea. No, it doesn’t mean I don’t want to change anything. I know I’m far from perfect, but I’m also not too lazy to make changes if I think they’ll help in some way. So for the next year, instead of writing resolutions, I’m writing goals.

As a young adult, I have a lot of dreams for my future, but I also know that some of the things I want for my life are unrealistic, or even just hard to achieve. Fortunately, I was always encouraged to pursue the things that would be hard to achieve if I wanted to. But I also learned that the only way to reach those things was to set smart goals and take steps to achieve them.

I know this isn’t a new concept, but it’s really the best way. To start making your goals, you have to decide who you want to be a year from now. Do you want to be someone who can run ten miles? Do you want to be someone who reads a book a week? Do you want to be someone who eats a salad every day for lunch? Whoever you want to be, you have to have a specific idea of where you would like to be next December.

It’s not enough to just want to change something, though. You have to have a reason. Maybe you want to eat healthier so you can live longer, or you want to exercise more so you can play sports. It doesn’t really matter what your reason is as long as you know why you’re doing it. It should be a reason that’s really important, because this reason is going to be the thing you think about when you want to give up completely. It must be something that will force you to keep going regardless of what hardship you’re facing.

Once you have your reason(s), you have to make a plan. This is (in my opinion) the most fun part, but it can also be the most challenging. It’s exciting to look at your year as a whole and see how much possibility there is before you to become a better person. You just have to fill it in. Make sure you write your plan down somewhere you’ll see it all the time, or even put it in your phone calendar, so that you will remember that you need to focus on it. Work backward, starting from your end goal and filling in major milestones in getting there, followed by the smaller steps you’ll need to take. Just be careful at this stage because it’s so easy to overestimate yourself. You may think you can start out running a mile, and then increasing it to two after a week and a half, but when you really think about it, it’s just not going to happen. Make sure you’re going to be pushing yourself the whole time, but be realistic about how much you can really handle, because you’re still just a person.

As soon as your plan is set, you just have to follow it. Easier said than done, right? It can be if you motivate yourself. Tell others what you’re doing so they can keep you accountable. Check in frequently with your plan to ensure that you’re making progress. Remind yourself constantly why you’re doing it. Stay focused. And when you want to give up, think of who you’ll be at the end of the year if you can keep it up.

Resolutions are daunting and impossible to hold onto. Goals can be a good alternative if you know where you want to be, you have good reasons for doing it, and you’re willing to put in the work. Remember how awesome you are every step of the way, and if you fall, just remind yourself that you’re not perfect, but that you can always pick yourself up and start where you left off. You’re strong and powerful, and if you focus on who you are and who you want to be, you can only get better.