New Year’s eve is an exciting time. It’s not just about a new year. It’s about a new perspective. No one knows what adventures, opportunities and bonds will manifest in this year. This is one of the few times when we as humans look at the unknown, not as something to fear, but as something to anticipate. In these beginning months, it is somehow more clear to us that our future is what we will make of it. Of course, this is always the case. We can always vow to be healthier, wealthier and more in tune with our spirituality, but what we need to change becomes more clear after a year struggling to achieve it. If you find that the fate of your New Years resolutions fail to meet up to the optimism of New Year’s Eve, you may be setting goals that are too lofty or vague.

When you have somewhere you want to go, you look up directions and plan out a path for how to get there. New years resolutions should be approached the same way. You need to do more than say them. Keeping certain things in mind while setting your goals will lay the foundation for success. Learn how to set and maintain your new years resolutions, and feed into your optimist perspective all year long.

Make New Years Resolutions That Have a Time Frame

If you’re looking to save $3,000 for traveling, give yourself a time frame to hit financial landmarks along the way to that goal. See how much you will need to set aside from each pay check to have $500 saved in two months. After those two months, do the same with next two, and the two after that. Watching yourself slowly but surely meet these small goals will motivate you to keep saving until you reach your goal. Whether you are looking to lose weight, save money or write a book, these new years resolutions can all be accomplished in the same way: by setting goals with set time frames and milestones to reach in the process. Plotting your path before you embark on it will assure that you are never working aimlessly toward something, and know where you are in your progression.

Keep It Realistic

New Year’s Eve brings both motivating and rejuvenating qualities along with it. These combine into an optimism that can be blinding to reality if you don’t combat it with logic. If you haven’t exercised in five years, don’t set a resolution to run five miles a day. Even if you run five miles the day after New Years, you’ll likely run out of steam (pardon the pun) shortly after. Instead, make realistic resolutions that don’t push you beyond what you’re capable of. Setting these goals will help you to get started, and after some time, you maybe running five miles a day. But that’s the place to start from. Instead of setting an end goal, set something that you can achieve now.

Maintain Optimism With Spirituality

Use your spirituality to bolster your resolutions. Spirituality is a tool to access your highest self. With it, you can realize what is holding you back, nourish what is worn out and visualize your success. Manifest your intentions by meditating with crystals. This practice will relieve stress, lower blood pressure and improve your outlook. Trying to push yourself to reach your goals when you are mentally exhausted is like driving on empty. Even though it may seem unrelated to your goal, meditation can help you to make the perspective shifts needs to accomplish it. Make meditation a regular part of your nightly routine. As you wind down for the day, meditate with a clear quartz crystal to reprogram your intentions. Focusing on breadth and removing anxieties from your mind, cleanse yourself in a bath of positive light.

Healthy Rewards

Treat yourself! Rewards are little ways that we can celebrate and validate our successes. While it’s important to take breaks that breathe new life into our resolutions, it is equally necessary for these rewards not to be set backs. Think of rewards that will bring you joy without undoing your hard work. For example, if you’ve been saving money, splurging on a nice meal won’t set you back too much and will make you feel good about being able to mark your accomplishment. Splurging on a larger purchase, however, can make all your saving and penny pinching, pointless. Healthy rewards are ones that stimulate the spirit, revive the motivation and nourish the body. A spa day or a day trip or a night off from your resolution to do something fun with friends—these will bring you closer to your goal by ensuring that you don’t burn out before reaching it. Plus, it’s way easier to work towards something when you know a spa day or night out is the reward!