These could be roadblocks on your journey to bettering yourself.

Today is the beginning of a new year. I used to struggle on these days. Aside from feeling like I had wasted the entire previous year, I felt overwhelmed by what I thought I should become this year. It left me putting off the resolutions until I felt like making changes.

Who wants a new year to feel like that?

Yuck. In an effort to change that mentality, I changed the way I looked at resolutions. Instead, I treated them like goals. Something about changing the word made me feel like I wasn't trying to fix anything about me, but rather set new bars for me to reach.

Here are some reasons why your resolutions goals may not be sticking.

1. They're way too broad - Often times we set general goals like "get in shape" for ourselves. What doesn't that even mean? Aren't we all shapes to begin with? Hone in on what that looks like for you. What is a tangible goal that you can reach and actually measure the success of? Set something like "run a 5K without stopping by March." That's super specific and when you run that 5K without stopping, you'll know for sure that you crushed that goal.

2. You're not writing them down - It sound silly, but writing down your goals makes all the difference in completing them. In a way you are drafting a contract with yourself. A promise that you will do this and a promise to yourself should never, ever be broken. Also, if you write down your goals and post them somewhere where you see them every single day, it's going to be hard for you to ignore them.

3. There's no plan - I once heard someone say that if you want to drive across the country to a place you've never been, it would be pretty hard to get there without a map. Your goals are uncharted territory and you need a game plan to achieve them. Otherwise you're just floating and hoping that eventually you'll bump into them. Start with the thing you want most, then make a list of the things you need to get there. From there, you can set tangible benchmarks that you can complete along the way. Again, this helps if you write them down (see number two).

4. You won't share with others - Crushing goals gets exponentially easier when you've got a support system around you. People that can help you with resources, people who will lift you up when you fall (which you will) and people who will celebrate you every step of the way. These are essential to reaching new heights. And you're going to have to get over yourself to do this. Stop worrying what others will think of you or your goals because the right people will push you in the right way. As for the wrong people? Well you can cut them loose.

5. You've already failed in your mind - Part of achieving goals is believing that you can. Notice I didn't say "hope"? Hope is a beautiful thing, but it's not a game plan. Action is. What are you going to do to make your dreams come true. One thing I started doing is writing down my dreams every single day. I have 10 big, wild, some-would-say-ridiculous dreams and I write them down each day as if they have already happened. This not only sets an incredible intention for each day, it also tells me that I will do this. My mind is made up that success is in my future.

These are things that have helped me tremendously in the goal/resolution game. Maybe they'll work for you or maybe they won't. Just find what does work for you and keep moving forward. I pray that this is your best year yet filled with new challenges and new horizons. I can't wait to see what you do!

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