(Katie dressed up to ring in the new year)

Who has given up on their New Year’s Resolutions already? It’s okay, you can be honest.

It’s kind of terrible, isn’t it? We start off the year with so much steam, but then we fall off the wagon a couple of times and end up feeling so discouraged that we throw in the towel way before the year is over.

Now, I understand that the point of the resolutions is, ultimately, to change your habits and ultimately your lifestyle. You want to be healthier, so you resolve to eat better and exercise. You set goals, but they’re hard to keep.

But here’s the thing.

Even if we are less consistent than we want to be, every single time we make a good choice, it’s still a good choice.

If you wanted to exercise every day, but only did it once this week, it’s still better than none. The six days you didn’t reach your goal does not nullify your one day of victory.

The achievements themselves are actually unimportant. If we are performance-focused, we will never be satisfied. It’s way too easy to become overwhelmed with guilt and disappointed if all we see is what we’ve done wrong.

So before you throw in the towel (or, if you’ve thrown it in already, pick it back up), decide to focus on your victories when it comes to New Year’s Resolutions. You, too, can improve your life! It’s one step at a time, and not all of them are in a row. Change is hard. It’s okay to admit that.

In 2014, let’s not be defeated by the changes we want to see.