Just a few weeks into the new year and many of you may have or may be thinking of abandoning those grand New Year’s Resolutions you set at the beginning of the year. But don’t quit just yet!

In 2012, Time magazine listed the top 10 most broken resolutions. In no particular order, they are:

  • Lose Weight and Get Fit
  • Quit Smoking
  • Learn Something New
  • Eat Healthier and Diet
  • Get Out of Debt and Save Money
  • Spend More Time with Family
  • Travel to New Places
  • Be Less Stressed
  • Volunteer
  • Drink Less

The majority of the resolutions are health related. According to the Forbes.com article, “Making New Year’s Resolutions That You Can Actually Keep”, broken resolutions often have the same traits.

Are too vague, too general and not specific enough: For instance, when you say “get fit,” do you mean fit like international football star Cristiano Ronaldo? Or just being able to walk up the stairs without vomiting? If it is Cristiano Ronaldo fit, well, good luck, because it could be that such resolutions…

Are too grand to be achievable: Chances are you are not going from couch potato to six-pack in one year. (Although you may go from your couch to get a six-pack of beer.) Be realistic and take smaller steps.

Focus on changing the result and not the causes: If you work in a doughnut factory, live above a doughnut shop, socialize with doughnuts and have friends who binge on doughnuts, then perhaps…just perhaps…your circumstances are contributing to your eating doughnuts.

Do not enlist the necessary social support: Ringo Starr once sang that you “get by with a little help from your friends.” (He also sang that you “get high with a little help from your friends.”) Those around you affect what you do. Without wing-men and wing-women to help, it may be tougher to cut down on buffalo wings.

Do not include enough immediate incentives: As Neidermeyer, in the movie Animal House, once said, “You’re all worthless and weak!” It is much easier to give into immediate urges than to maintain long-term goals. So if following resolutions does not bring at least some immediate positive effects, you are less likely to follow them.

So, how can you create resolutiosn you can keep. Here’s the tips from that Forbes.com article:

  • Read food labels and know what is in your food and beverages. Seeing the actual ingredients alone may help you make changes. For example, have you seen how much salt is hidden in food? And when I say labels, I mean the official nutrition labels.
    Sever an unhealthy relationship (e.g., someone who is unsupportive, abusive, or a bad influence).
  • Establish a new relationship or strengthen an existing one with someone who helps you be healthier and happier.
  • Join a sports class or league.
  • Start walking, cycling or taking public transportation to work.
  • Choose a specific volunteering event that is convenient and helps you do something that you enjoy.
  • Replace one unhealthy food or beverage that you eat regularly with a healthy alternative (e.g., nuts instead of candy, water instead of soda).
  • With your friends, identify one regular social event that is unhealthy and determine how to change the event (e.g., change where you regularly go out to eat).
  • Tell your significant other, friends, co-workers or doctor about an unhealthy habit that you’d like to eliminate.
  • Choose with your family or friends a single resolution that you can achieve together.
  • Finally, making too many resolutions can initially seem attractive but decreases the chances of each sticking. Don’t make your resolutions like some marriages. (Mickey Rooney, who got married eight times once said, “Always get married early in the morning. That way, if it doesn’t work out, you haven’t wasted a whole day.”)

In life, small successes can have a way of cascading to subsequent larger ones. If you can keep at least one or two resolutions that you make, then 2016 could be a memorable and healthy year.