Why You Shouldn’t Wait ’Til the New Year to Make Resolutions (and the One Trick to Keeping Them)

According to a report from U.S. News & World, the failure rate for New Year's resolutions is about 80 percent, and most lose their resolve by mid-February. The report cites the lack of understanding: Setting goals centered around dieting and fitness neglects to take into account the stressfulness of change and the inevitable disappointment when the results are not immediately noticeable. Gerber says to start working towards your dreams now. Start making (and keeping) actionable, specific promises today and you’ll be a pro come January.

According to Gerber, humans rarely keep resolutions because they're usually monumentally big, too vague and not measurable. “Get healthier,” “improve relationships with my family,” and “spend less time on social media” are all rooted in the right place, but don’t include action. Instead, make promises that are specific and measurable, like “work out for 30 minutes five days a week.” If you do fail one week, you can then hold yourself accountable. When you do keep a promise to yourself (or tell the truth about when you don't), you're able to build self-trust.

Speaking of accountability, set consequences if you do break a promise. These can be funny, annoying tasks, like paying your kids $10 if you miss the gym. (And, yes, tell them about it so they hold you accountable to it as well.) If you don't keep your promise, pay up. Instead of feeling guilty, you’ll have a (literal) price to pay for not keeping up your end of the bargain. Some of Gerber’s other go-to “consequences” are push-ups, skipping cream in your coffee, calling a relative or spending a day away from Instagram.

Gerber’s number one tip for sticking to your goals: using an accountability system, like Inner.U's Promise Tracker. How it works: Inner.U will set you up with one free life coaching session as well as a free 6-week group Masterclass (yep, you can do it all from the comfort of your own couch) and your very own Promise Tracker, which locks you into your self-designed specific promises and, yes, consequences. You can schedule check-ins, find an accountability buddy (different than a drinking buddy) who will help you through the sticking points in keeping those very promises. The key to its success: fostering Personal Integrity within yourself, aka the ability to make and keep a promise to yourself so that you can accomplish your dreams. As Gerber says, “Happiness, self-esteem, and personal pride come from knowing you can count on you.”