As we approach January 1, you’ll hear a lot about the importance of making New Year’s resolutions. But most goals that people set at the beginning of the year - such as getting physically fit, getting out of debt or making more money - do not become reality.

There are many reasons for this, such as a lack of sufficient motivation, inadequate commitment, or an unwillingness to experience discomfort. And sometimes the goals are simply outside the realm of possibility.

The problem is, if you create unrealistic goals, you don’t just set yourself up for failure. You set yourself up for lowering your self-respect and self-confidence, which then impacts the effort you’ll invest in working towards your goals. And your belief in what’s possible for you diminishes as well, as you see yourself falling short of what you hoped for.

You can inoculate yourself from these downsides and increase your chances of success if you carve out some time to write out the answers to three questions.

1. What positive results did I get that I am proud of and WHY?

You HAVE accomplished many good things this year, and you need to recognize them. List as many as you can think of, no matter how small or trivial they may seem to you. Reviewing all your achievements serves to expand your beliefs about what’s possible for the next 12 months.

For each item on your list, include WHY you got the result you did. What specifically did you do? When you understand cause and effect, you can figure out how to repeat the process.

2. What results didn’t work out the way I hoped and WHY?

No one is perfect, and that includes you. So despite your best efforts, you made some mistakes and experienced setbacks or failures. You need to learn from them so you don’t repeat them next year.

After you describe the situation, examine what you did or didn’t do that contributed to the undesirable outcome. You’ve got to be totally honest with yourself if you are serious about getting a different result in the coming months.

3. What results do I want next year, and what actions will I need to take to make them a reality?

If you continue to do what you’ve always done, you can’t expect the outcome to be different. By definition, a goal is a destination you haven’t achieved yet. So you’ll need to make some changes in order to make your resolutions a reality. That means getting outside your comfort zone and stretching to make them happen.

Most likely, you’ll have to engage several personal strengths in the process – like courage, initiative, perseverance, effort, and self-discipline. You’ll need grit and determination to say “NO” to temptations and distractions. You’ll need open-mindedness and decisiveness to say “YES” to the opportunities that present themselves.

How can you do this? Very few people can stick with their commitment to change on their own. Having a support system in place can mean the difference between success and failure.

Wouldn’t it be great to have a coach available 24/7 to help you through the rough spots, offer encouragement whenever you needed it and hold your accountable for taking action and getting results?

That type of coach is available to you today. If you’re committed to becoming a stronger, better version of yourself in the coming year, I encourage you to check out ProStar Coach. It combines virtual coaching with coaching from real people who care about your success. It’s like having your own private online gym for working out to build personal strength instead of physical strength – and it’s never closed!

"The only reason we really pursue goals is to cause ourselves to expand and grow. Achieving goals by themselves will never make us happy in the long term; it's who you become, as you overcome the obstacles necessary to achieve your goals, that can give you the deepest and most long-lasting sense of fulfillment." - Anthony Robbins, American author (1960- )