More people break their New Year’s resolutions than actually keep them. Some break their resolutions on New Year’s Day, or, worse, on New Year’s Eve. But, with a few tips and tricks, you can be one of the few who follow through with their commitment to change their lives for the better.

Be Realistic. You’ll set yourself up for failure if you make the goal to lose 50 pounds by April. Choose goals that you can actually achieve and that won’t discourage you enough so you quit outright. Rather than say you will quit smoking in a set amount of time, say that you want to reduce your daily cigarette number by half in time for Easter.

Be Positive. Keeping a New Year’s resolution will always be easier to do when it’s something positive. Rather than saying you’ll cut out all fast food, make the goal to improve your diet. Don’t say that you’ll lose weight, but that you’ll exercise more.

Get Support. You will have more success when you enlist the help of others, whether it’s a spouse, sibling, friend or coworker. Set the goal together, and check in with each other often. Never criticize or belittle any failures the other has. Instead, motivate each other and provide encouragement.

Allow for Failure. There will be times when you falter and blow it. Whether you skip a whole week at the gym or just haven’t make progress on cleaning out the garage, there are things in life that get in the way. Don’t let failure derail you; instead just accept the error, try to prevent it from happening again and get back on track.

Reward Yourself. As you make progress toward your goal, determine any rewards and incentives. If your goal was to reduce time watching television, reward yourself after two successful months by splurging on a few good books. Or, celebrate those recently lost pounds with a shopping spree.