January 17th may not be a special day on your calendar, but it is a particularly meaningful day for New Year’ s resolutions: that’ s the day the average resolution gets broken. Your plans to lose weight, quit smoking, or run a mile every day are statistically likely to be a thing of the past by January 17th.

It doesn’ t have to be that way. Here are five practical steps you can take to make your New Year’ s resolutions stick.

MAKE SMALL GOALS You can make a big goal and plan to accomplish it by December 31st, but you can also make a small goal and get it done sooner. Once you complete that goal, you can make a new goal. You can even keep that big goal in mind as you go through the year accomplishing small goals. For example, instead of planning to work out for 150 minutes a week, you could plan to exercise for 10 minutes a day, three days a week.

Once you’ re steadily doing 10 minutes a day of walking, you can add another 5 minutes. By December 31st, you’ ll probably be doing that 150 minutes a week, but this is a less daunting way to do it.

MAKE ONE CHANGE

You could give up sugar … but you could also just quit drinking soda for breakfast. If it seems hard to skip your morning drive-through Coke, you can remind yourself that you can still have a soda for lunch, or experiment with different kinds of tea to find a happier alternative. Other small changes that can add up to big benefits:

• Take the stairs instead of the elevator.

• Drink one glass of water for every alcoholic drink you have at a party.

• Take up Meatless Mondays.

• Set a five-minute timer when you get home and make that your daily quiet time.

• Eat at the table every time you eat, instead of noshing in front of the TV or over the sink.

CHOOSE HABITS OVER GOALS

Instead of thinking about your resolution in terms of the goal, identify habits that support the goal. For example, losing weight may be tough. However, taking a daily walk will probably cause you to lose some pounds.

Focus on the habits you want to change, and the goals will probably take care of themselves.

We invite you to explore the possibilities of a life well lived, filled with connections and enrichment!

INDEPENDENT LIVING ASSISTED LIVING MEMORY CARE

3434 N Crossover Rd Fayetteville, AR 72703( 479) 249-8858 cielseniorliving. com / fayetteville

OURHEALTHNWA. COM 6 JANUARY 2026 | NUTRITION AND WELLNESS ISSUE