The New Year is upon us and with it, many people plan on wiping the slate clean and beginning anew with the start of the new calendar year. There are many different New Year's resolutions, from saving money to simply being a better person. But one of the most common among these, is the resolution to become a fitter person, to work out more, to be more healthy.

Sadly, most people who take this as their resolution ultimately fail. This happens not because they do not truly want to be healthy or fit; it is simply because they do not possess the proper motivation.

Most people create a resolution for themselves because it is a trend, their friends are doing it and so they want to do it too. They do want to better themselves; but when something is made a resolution a lot of the pressure is taken off of the person making it. If you fail to attain it, you are just failing your resolution like so many others do. If a person fails, the blame does fall on them, but since it is only a New Year's resolution it becomes nothing more than a passing fancy. Deciding to become fit cannot be made as a commitment to a resolution, it has to be made as a commitment to yourself.

Becoming fit is very difficult. Even a seemingly simple goal of losing ten pounds can be a lot harder than many think. It takes a lot of time, a lot of forethought, and a whole ton of sweat. I myself have been going to the gym regularly for almost five years and being truly fit is something that I still pursue.

But I pursue it for myself: I want to be strong, I want to look better, I want to be healthier. Not for a resolution, but for myself. I want to be able to look at myself and say, "damn I look good" or to go into the gym and squat 500 pounds. I want to prove to myself that I can do it, not to anyone else and surely not to the New Year.

That's why I have been able to keep going for five years through my crazy schedule in the military into my equally crazy schedule as a student. And I have even met my goals, I look decent (so I'm told) and I can squat 500 pounds.

But now I want to keep improving, it has become a part of my lifestyle. That is the key to becoming fitter, to becoming healthier and even to just losing ten pounds.

You have to do it for yourself.

In one's journey to getting in better shape, they will endure immense struggles. There will be days they don't want to work out, there will be days when they are laughed at, and there will be days when they eat ten donuts because donuts taste really freaking good. But if they can look at themselves in the mirror and say, "I want this because I want to better myself." Then they will always be able to get back to work and motivate themselves to be better.

But if they look in the mirror and say, "I want this because it's my New Year's resolution." They probably won't feel any more motivated because they won't be doing it for themselves.

If, for 2018, you made it your resolution to get in better shape, don't feel bad. It is a good way to get started, but you have to prevent yourself from becoming another one of the New Year gym goers that quit after a month.

To do this make the goals what you want, not what your friends want, or what a magazine tells you to want. Do it for yourself. Stop posting progress pics, and let your work speak for itself. Hike up your pants, clench your teeth, crank up your favorite Katy Perry song and get to work improving yourself. And hey, if all you want is to lose ten pounds, work your heart out to shed those pounds.

Don't do it because you want people to think you look good, do it because you want to look good when you look at yourself.

And who knows, maybe you'll fall in love with working out like I did and it'll become a part of your everyday life.