Each new year serves as a clean slate for many individuals and gives us the opportunity to achieve new goals.  It works as a restart button for society.

We are able to leave our failures and grudges behind in 2013 and start completely new in 2014.

For many of us, the best way to make the most of 2014 is to make a list of goals for the new year, which we call New Year’s resolutions.

According to an article on Forbes.com, it is estimated that 40% of Americans make New Year’s resolutions each year.

Although many people say they are a waste of time, making a New Year’s resolution actually improves the odds of success, according to WebMD.

The most common resolutions are losing weight, being healthier, and getting organized.

One of the best ways to kick start your New Year’s resolution is to tell a friend in order to keep you accountable to your goals.

Without making that initial step toward your goals, you are more likely to never accomplish them. As long as when you say you have a New Year’s resolution you actually mean it, and are not just saying it without any commitment behind what you say.

There has to be a certain level of commitment behind a New Year’s resolution. It is the uncommitted people who make New Year’s resolutions into a tradition that only lasts for the first two weeks of the new year.

New Year’s resolutions are not the be-all and end-all of our goals and what we intend to accomplish, but they work as an excellent push in the right direction.

The best way to achieve our resolutions is to make them realistic and attainable.  Make a resolution that you actually believe you can accomplish.

And remember that if you start a New Year’s resolution but do not complete it fully, that does not make you a failure; you tried and always have the ability to keep trying.