Making New Year’s resolutions can feel like a scary thing. We tend to be hard on ourselves, make massive resolutions we may not be able to keep, and in the end feel let down and like failures.

This year, avoid the New Year resolution guilt trap and feelings of failure. See why you should skip making the New Year resolutions and set obtainable goals, intentions, and milestones for your life instead.

5 Reasons Why You Should Skip Making New Year’s Resolutions:

We tend to make resolutions without support in place.

Every year people make resolutions to quit smoking, quit eating sugar, quit drinking, the list goes on. But in the end they have no support in place to help them achieve their goals. And so they fail, and the negativity and guilt sets in. Instead of resolutions of what you will no longer do, make plans of what you WILL do to live a better life.

We tend to make more resolutions than we can tackle.

Many times we make 8-10 resolutions with the best intentions in place. But often times, that is way too much to tackle properly in a year’s time. It is better to stick to one to two goals or several intentions that we can give full attention to and practice every day.

We spread ourselves too thin over our resolutions instead of paying mind to and completing one task fully.

As mentioned above, we tend to put too many resolutions before ourselves and set ourselves up for failure. When you spread yourself too thin, you can’t full complete one task. Instead, choose few goals that you know you have the time and energy to dedicate yourself to. It is better to complete two goals fully than to have a dozen goals you have only put a small dent in.

Failed resolutions can lead to feelings of guilt and cause you to quit your efforts all together.

Be realistic with your expectations of yourself. Know that change takes time and can happen slowly. Failure to meet your goals doesn’t mean it is time to wipe the slate, it simply means you need to refocus and gain more support. Don’t look at resolutions as a do or die process, instead set New Year goals that you give yourself grace to tackle at your pace.

Any day, any time is a great time to make positive changes in our lives, not just New Year’s.

Who says New Years resolutions are the only way to make change? Change can happen anytime, anywhere. We put so much pressure on ourselves in hopes that this time of year will bring magical changes with it and that simply isn’t the case. Remind yourself that change happens when you are ready to tackle the issues and better yourself. You don’t need a holiday to give you permission to do so.

This New Year’s, let go of the idea of making a list of New Year’s resolutions. Set some intentions instead. Make a few thoughtful goals for yourself, find the support you need, and put a tangible plan in place. If you fall, get back up. And allow yourself the time you need to make real change in your life. You got this!