To Keep a Resolution, Start Small

Start small if you want to keep a New Year’s resolution. The top reason people abandon their goals for self-improvement is that they set their expectations too high—targeting a pie-in-the-sky figure of 20 pounds lost, for example, or $1, 000 saved. Instead, “Start with very, very small steps, ” Dr. Lina Shihabuddin, a psychiatrist and chief medical officer at RWJBarnabas Health in West Orange, N.J., told USA Today. Otherwise, you can get frustrated and give up on your goals altogether.