It is not until around December 28 each year that people really start to think about what goals they want to achieve in the new year. As cliché as it gets, the new year marks a new start.

Setting a New Year’s resolution is a tradition that has existed since the time of the Babylonians. It began as a religious obligation, one in which people made promises to their gods at the start of each year to pay their debts and return objects that they had borrowed.

Today’s New Year’s resolutions are no longer quite the same.

Rather, the new year is a time that most people set frenetic New Year resolutions for themselves: whether it’s weight loss, eating better, saving money or almost anything else. The problem with New Year’s resolutions is that sometimes the goal can be too extreme; this is the reason that most people give up on them.

Although the New Year acts as a great source of inspiration to carry out these goals, most of these goals are never achieved. According to forbes.com, “just 8% of people achieve their New Years goals.”

So why is this number so low? There are a couple of reasons. People choose to set unattainable goals, as they feel that with the New Year they’d be able to achieve the unconquerable.

Starting simple is key to completing a New Year’s goal. To achieve your goal, make it a progressive project, because this goal will not be accomplished overnight. And people often get too busy with their everyday lives to carry through with their extensive New Year goals.

But why does the New Year mean new goals?  I don’t think it should. There’s no difference in starting today, tomorrow, or even next month.

So why not start today? Goals depend on the person and their level of determination, ambition and desire.  If you set your mind to it, then you will get it.

The best way to keep up with any goal is to make it achievable.  Keep it simple and keep it going. Perseverance and determination will make these goals become achievable.

Because the number of accomplished New Years goals is very slim, I think that it’s more practical to start at a time that’s convenient. The success of a goal comes with habits.

Although when the New Year rolls around we try to fix our old routines, this is most likely not the best time to break these habits. Start small and work your way up to the ultimate achievement. The triumph of a goal starts with perseverance.

So start tomorrow, next month, or even right now.