Everyone is talking about their New Year's resolutions. What they're going to start doing, what they're going to stop doing. Gym memberships sky rocket, grocery stores bring in the bucks, people who claimed to have given up on love start dating again and by the third week, everything goes back to normal. Why can't we actually keep our New Year's resolutions?

Well, maybe because we're too busy trying to make everything new. We are literally throwing out the old and bringing in the new. No wonder that isn't maintainable. People aren't really working on themselves, rather, they're just completely changing themselves. Instead of making a New Year's resolution to put more effort into going to the gym, the resolution is to lose a crazy amount of pounds. NO ONE can do that, no matter how hard they try.

You can't quit cold turkey. Or maybe some people can. Regardless, you can't change yourself all because the year did. You need to slowly work towards a change. People are making unrealistic expectations of themselves. You wouldn't expect your friend to lose 25 pounds in a month, so why would you expect that of yourself?

The pressure is on - too much pressure. Yes, a little motivation is a good thing, but everything has to be in moderation. Too much motivation can actually be a bad thing! You won't be able to stick to your resolution if its just impossible. When you motivate someone else, you give them rewards for the little things they do to work up to what they want to achieve. Therefore, do that with yourself. You are just as much of a real human being as anyone else is.

I know the expression: shoot for the moon, you'll land somewhere in the stars. I really don't think that applies to New Year's resolutions because honestly people just crash and burn into the sun or something. The goal of New Year's resolutions is to actually make them happen, not make one and then forget about it after the first month.

Even if you get discouraged, don't give up. Plenty of people take years to get to where they want to be. It doesn't all happen in a matter of days, magically just because its a new year.

This New Year's, make the resolution manageable. Make it something that you can continually work towards. Instead of forcing yourself to become CEO of the company you work for, aim for promotions. Instead of trying to drop 5 sizes, aim to lose a little bit of weight every week. Instead of switching to vegan, try eating more salads. Keep your goals reachable.

Best of luck to all you, I hope your New Year's resolutions come true.