Ding dong, it's the New Year - and with it comes a fresh slate and renewed vigor for reaching goals... right? 

Many people start off the year wanting to make big changes in their lives. Which is good to a certain degree. However, according to a U.S. News and World Report, 80% of us will fail or give up on our New Year's resolutions by February. Yikes. Why this massive abandonment of resolutions? Fear of failure and setting unreachable goals for our own unique lifestyles are just a few reasons. 

Yes, saving more money, getting healthy, losing weight or running a marathon are all worthy, healthy goals. Although forcing a huge change in your lifestyle might work for a while, studies show it's simply unsustainable. And when we fail at making huge changes, we tend to regress faster into unhealthy patterns. But guess what? Failure is part of life! Failing shouldn't indicate you should quit on your goals altogether. It's simply an indication to make an adjustment.

Letting go of fear is part of achievement - especially when it comes to fear of failing. Allowing yourself to fail, reassessing your goals and trying again is key to making lasting, healthy changes. That, and setting up goals that are realistic are both key to success. Here are a few other tips to get you on the right path to success in 2020:

1. Create S.M.A.R.T goals. Specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-sensitive. Many times, we create goals for the New Year that start with something vague, which can lead to frustration and confusion of where to start.

2. Write it down. Writing down your goals allows for better personal accountability and also gives you a chance to better visualize what you want. In fact, you are 42% more likely to achieve your goals and dreams simply by writing them down on a regular basis. 

3. Embrace failure.  Author Robert Kiyosaki says that, "successful people don't fear failure but understand it is necessary to learn and grow from." Setting goals, noting flaws or noticing how you react (or don't) to certain parameters is all part of learning a successful process for you. Thomas Edison, inventor of the lightbulb, famously went through 1,000 prototypes before reaching one that worked. When asked by a reporter how it felt like to fail 1,000 times, Edison responded, "I didn't fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps."

Changing habits is hard. But with the proper tool kit and an attainable roadmap, you can achieve success in 2020 and beyond! 

For more goal motivation and planning watch our helpful video below! 

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