New Year celebrations date back almost 4,000 years. In Babylon, the Babylonians celebrated the religious festival called Akitu. During the 11 day celebration the Babylonians made promises to the gods, they would pay off all debts and return borrowed objects.

In 46 B.C., emperor Julius Caesar introduced the Julian calendar which resembles the more modern Gregorian Calendar that many countries use to this day. Caesar made it so that January 1st was the day to honor the Roman god, Janus, the God of Beginnings whose two faces allowed him to look back into the past and into the future.

Owing to this custom of reflection and planning, making resolutions as the New Year begins is a popular tradition. People tend to say the same things. “I want to lose that weight,” “I want to do better in school,” “I’m going to start exercising,” and more. People get excited by their decisions to improve their lives. They begin diets, they crack open their daily planners, or they buy a gym membership.

Many people make these promises only to break them after a couple days. People who sincerely try to keep their resolutions tend to fail because, during the year, they suffer from pressures and stress in the workplace or school. Before they know it, it is once again December and they have used their membership only five times while paying expensive monthly fees. It is not that resolutions are a bad idea. Most people sincerely want to stick to their resolutions.

There are simple solutions to setting your goals and being successful in meeting them. The first step is to set realistic goals. For example, don’t say you will go to the gym five times a week, cut it to a more realistic two or three times a week.

Time management is also a big factor in reaching your goals. If you want to do better in school, it is not impossible. You may have to miss a sport’s practice now and then to improve your academics.  You could make more time to study by cutting out a half hour of TV time; this can make a difference in your grade.

Finally, don’t go it alone. Looking to get into shape?  Find a gym buddy. Struggling in a class? Do not be afraid to ask for help.  People are not going to know if you do not understand something unless you ask for help.

If you still are unable to reach your goals, change them to something more attainable.  As long as you set a goal for yourself and try, you are already more successful.