When it comes to envisioning the changes you want to make for the New Year, it can be overwhelming. Here’s how you can make a realistic resolution to see real results in 2017.

Whether you want to eat healthier, exercise more, improve your relationships or succeed at work, it can be helpful to break overwhelming goals in to smaller steps. How do you envision your best self? What do you need to work on to help achieve that vision?

One way to get started is to make a SMART goal. SMART goals are:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Appropriate
• Realistic and
• Timely

Specific

A specific goal can help you narrow down where to start—instead of saying, “I will improve my diet.” Think, “I’ll add a serving of vegetables to my lunch every day.”

Measurable

When a goal is measurable, you can be sure you are making progress—whether that is by counting the number of cycling classes you attend, or making sure you record your weight progress once a week.

Appropriate

An appropriate goal is one that will help you reach your overall resolution—will buying new tennis shoes help you lose weight, or will walking 20 minutes a day?

Realistic & Timely

Lastly, your goals should be realistic and timely—something you feel confident to achieve, and within a certain time frame.

You may want to set a SMART goal for the week or maybe for the month, and change them based on how easy or difficult they are to complete. Reach out for support—tell your friends, family, or your cycling instructor what you are working on so they can support you along the way. Consider a reward for yourself when you meet a small goal or milestone.

Identify what might get in your way, but remember why you are motivated to make a change, and how great your achievement will feel.