I am all for setting goals for the new year. But I think there are a lot of people that put so much weight into their “resolutions”, make them almost impossible to reach, and once they slip up, they think whelp I’ve failed, better go back to what I was doing before and wait until next year.

I’m specifically thinking of people’s weight loss goals. There’s nothing wrong with setting this sort of resolution. But I think instead of saying I want to lose 20 pounds, you should make your goals other things that will get you there. Things like “This year I want to run a half marathon,” “This year I want to cut out processed foods 5 days a week,” “This year I want to pack my own lunches for work.”

And going along with this, there is no reason you have to wait until January 1st to make the change. I am constantly setting resolutions for myself all year long.

I’ve seen studies that say 8% of people keep their New Years Resolutions. Only 8%!

While I set my goals for the new year, I use those almost as intentions. I check in with them almost every month or two, but I set different goals for each month.

I want people to approach goal setting, and New Years Resolutions differently. So many are setting themselves up for failure, and there’s no fun in that.

It’s time to start approaching each month as a chance to make a change, each week and every day as a chance to make a positive change in our lives.

The next part of the equation is the failure. It’s going to happen. It’s a real drag to try and be perfect. No one is. You’re going to fail and that’s just part of the process. But the trick is once you fail to think “Right, no big deal. My fresh start begins now.”

There’s this place we go for Taco Tuesday, and a while ago the girl ringing us up started asking about being vegan (I asked for no cheese and she asked). She then went on to talk about how she tried to go vegan the previous summer, made it four days and then had some honey glazed almonds, and because she thought she had “failed” threw the whole goal out the window and went back to eating meat.

You guys, we’ve got to cut ourselves some more slack than that!

“Oh shoot, those had honey on them. I’ll remember that for next time, but I’m going to continue my journey into veganism.”

I want to try incorporating running, yoga and weight lifting this winter. Ideally, I would like to get into the habit of doing something each day. But when I miss a day do I just give up completely? No way!

Setting big goals are great, but grant yourself some wiggle room.

What are some exciting goals you've set for yourself this year?