It’s that time of the year again when you promise to turn over a new leaf, to give up all vices and to lead a virtuous, saint-like life henceforth. You try very hard to stick to your resolutions and succeed for a week at the most.

Then the promises start to crumble; you start cheating and finally the resolutions die a painful death leaving you frustrated and dissatisfied. This scenario plays out year after year for the majority of us right from the initial euphoria to the eventual disappointment.

Here are eight simple tips to help you keep your New Year resolutions:

Be realistic: Driven by the spirit of the New Year celebrations, it is very easy to set lofty goals which you may not be able to attain. Keep your goals real and achievable. For instance, if you have weight problems it is better to resolve to lose 10 kilos in six months than 20 kilos in six weeks. The former will help you plan out your exercise regime whereas the latter will lead you to follow a crash diet which will adversely hamper your health. Setting smaller targets at a time will ensure you achieve them and this achievement will spur you on to the next part of your goal. Also, try and make only two or three resolutions a year to give yourself a realistic chance to carry on.

Reward yourself: Remember how ecstatic you felt all those years ago when mom gave you a chocolate for correctly reciting a poem? Rewards have a morale-boosting effect, age no bar. For every positive obtained as a result of sticking to your resolution, gift yourself a small trinket. It will definitely act as a catalyst and speed up your process of achieving your goal.

Be passionate about your goals: Self-motivation is a big must if you plan to stick to your New Year vows. It is easy to embark on something after being inspired by others or being pushed into it by your kin. But, to continue on the chosen path, you have to be passionate about your aims. Only then will you experience success.

Write them down: Recall those times when teachers used to make us write 300 times “I will not talk in class”. The aim of this exercise was not only to teach us to be better behaved; it was also to etch the lesson in our memory since writing is a powerful tool to recap things. You can still make use of it. Write down your resolutions on several pieces of paper and stick them in strategic locations in your house and on your workstation. These will remind you of the targets in case you falter or are tempted to deviate.

Remove ambiguity: Be clear in drafting your resolutions. “I will feed a stray animal every day” is much more realistic than, say, “I will be kind to animals.” The former sets a specific task whereas the latter leaves room for ambiguity and manipulation. Also, make goals which are related to you in some way. “Will work for world peace” sounds lofty as there is hardly anything active you can do. Besides working, resolve to patch up with friends or settle an old dispute with a family member or stop losing my temper with the kids. Let that be your contribution to peace.

Group goals: Making resolutions as a group of likeminded people is better than individually. In the case of group goals, you can keep reminding and motivating each other. On days that you don’t feel like working towards your goals, your “groupies” can egg you on and you can return the favour when one of them is feeling like giving up.

Be ready for a lifestyle change: Sticking to resolutions may entail giving up an old habit or embracing a new one. This may lead to a minor or major lifestyle change. Be mentally prepared to tackle the change.

Love yourself: Take stock periodically of the status of your resolutions. Do not be too harsh on yourself if you find that there are deviations. No problem if you falter once or twice in your aims. Let bygones be bygones and start afresh but never berate or taunt yourself. Do not sink into depression or brand yourself a failure. The whole aim of the resolution-making exercise is to make you a better person, and the first step to that will be to love yourself, no matter what.