On the first day of the year millions of people make their New Year’s resolutions. More often than not, after a few days or even a few weeks, these resolutions are broken and then totally ignored. Yet despite the repeated failures, we still keep trying.

Studies claim that only 12% out of 156 million people will be able to commit and succeed with their resolutions. It can be lack of motivation, lack of resources or just plainly lose interest, you can restart your resolution this coming New Year and start with a clean slate. There are other reasons why people are not sticking with their resolutions and below are 10 examples of why people don’t succeed.

Why People Don’t Succeed With New Year Resolutions

1. You’re Going At It Alone

Whether you’re trying to quit smoking, starting a diet, starting a fitness regimen, going to the gym or improving your game, don’t go at it alone. Having a goal buddy will create accountability, which is important for success. It’s always best to have someone who has a higher success rate when having outside support. Or you can surround yourself with people that can inspire to do more or to push more within your capacity.

These people should be a positive force in your life and push you to reach your goal and not to ridicule you, unless they are your best friends since you were in diapers. They might joke, insult and laugh at you non-stop but still support you all the way.

2. You Try Too Hard Too Soon

A slow and steady pace may not be effective for some, but it’s a lot more effective than a 360 degree change. Small changes stick better because it’s not intimidating, it will become a habit if you do it right and are more achievable. You can’t just make a 360 turn and remodel your life overnight.

Have a plan with achievable steps in executing your plan. Write them down and cross it after reaching that goal and you will be able to see more progress that will build your confidence and continue with your resolution.

3. It’s Not What You Really Want

The goals that you’ve made and excited about now or probably on New Year ’s Eve, may not be what you really want. You need to have the desire and the passion to pursue your goals. Without any motivation, it will be hard for you to harness the effort needed to rise above the challenges that you may face. You have to dig deep and find what you want and have the motivation to change.

4. You Set Unrealistic Resolutions

Setting unrealistic resolutions sets yourself up for failure. Think about your real motivation for wanting to set a goal, and take it day by day. You might want to lose weight, for example, because your Doctor told you to. Promising to drop 100 pounds by March is not realistic or healthy. Avoid obsessing about the past and embrace the present and what you can do to make a difference for yourself, your family, friends and other fellow human beings.

5. You Don’t Believe In Yourself

If you have tried and failed in setting up a New Year’s resolution in the past, don’t be discouraged. It’s not the end of the world. Doubt can be a nagging voice in your head and will fight personal growth. The measure of success is not how many times you fail, but how you get up and fight from those failures.

6. Don’t Think Too Much

Look for inspiration or knowledge and realistically apply it to your life. Have realistic goals and don’t think too much of anything that you cannot actually achieve. Each day just try to do better than the previous.

7. You’re In A Hurry

Not everything can achieve goals fast.  There will be some kind of process, some steps, some planning before starting your goal. Any goal can’t be done overnight. Set benchmarks or milestones to achieve throughout the year and see the positive results.

8. You’re Not Enjoying the Process

Let’s face it, most resolutions we set for ourselves will be hard. Because if they weren’t, then we would already be achieving it, right. So set some goals that include some fun along the way.  For example, if you want to lose weight, swap the boring gym workout for a mountain bike ride with your friends. Biking can give many health benefits including losing weight and at the same time, you’re enjoying the outdoors with your friends. There will be more happy moments because you’re having fun.

9. Time Management

There will be times that you realize that some of your New Year’s resolutions are a bigger time commitment than what you’ve originally intended. You can’t accomplish everything in one day, break it into manageable tasks and then expand on those once you’ve achieved them.  Let’s stick to the losing weight examples; so if you promise yourself that you’ll only have two exercise sessions per week. Then once you have a handle on that goal then increase it to three sessions.

10. Financial Burden

Many people just give up on their resolutions because expenses are too high. Be creative and try to find less expensive alternatives to complete your goals.

11. You Have The Wrong Perspective

Your intentions are all good with the list of resolutions that you have, it’s just that you may be putting unneeded pressure on yourself. Don’t dwell on things that you cannot accomplish and focus on what you can accomplish instead. Don’t stress yourself because the goal is to make positive changes and not make negative ones. If you believe you can, you will.