We all fall victim to making New Year’s resolutions … and then abruptly pretending they never existed. It happens to everyone—even those who claim this year will be different. If you’ve ever wondered why your New Year’s resolutions fail time and time again, these reasons may provide you with some clarification, along with some helpful tips to get you to actually stick to your goals this year.

You don’t make them specific enough.

If your sole resolution this year is to “get fit,” consider tailoring it more to your lifestyle and your specific goals for the year. People tend to let this resolution fall to the wayside because they simply didn’t lay down the foundation to actually stick to it. What do you mean by getting fit? If this includes a gym plan, write out exactly what you want your weeks to look like. If this has to do more with nutrition, consider keeping a food journal or downloading a health-and- wellness app. The more specific you get with your goals—fitness related or otherwise—the higher chance you have of sticking to them.

You become lazy.

This is probably the most likely reason people fail at sticking to their resolutions each year. They become too lazy and no longer want to commit to what they told themselves they were going to commit to at the start of January. Writing yourself reminders (or putting them in your phone), creating realistic goals instead of outlandish ones, and setting concrete stepping-stones for you to meet throughout the year can all restore motivation.

You don’t make resolutions you actually care about.

Maybe you don’t feel the need to go to the gym more, but you feel pressured by the millions of other people making it their resolution. Try making resolutions that you actually want to follow through with, instead of making arbitrary goals that make no sense with your lifestyle.

You make it too much about the negative.

The beginning of a new year is the perfect time to start fresh, so try to focus on the good, versus focusing on everything about you that you don’t like. This could be as simple as wording your resolutions differently. Don’t say, “I’m so overweight, I need to lose weight.” Start saying, “I want to be healthier this year.” Try to look at the changes you want to make in a more positive light, and you may find yourself sticking to them as the year goes on.

Implement these strategies during the new year so the next 365 days are filled with productivity.