If you’re like me, you love what a new year brings: the chance to do something different, start something new, change something about your life for the better. A new year offers a clean slate, an opportunity to start fresh, a chance to turn the page on the past.

So why is it so hard to stick to those new goals we make with such resolve, ambition and determination when January rolls around?

Here are 5 ways to make your 2015 career resolutions stick:

1. Expect any new behavior or habit to take time. If you prepare yourself mentally that changing something takes time, you lessen the anxiety around trying to make it happen right away. You understand that change is a process, and the truth is that no one enjoys overnight success. In fact, studies show that New Year’s resolutions drop off after one week, mostly because we lose our motivation since change is not happening quickly enough. Just picture the amount of people in your gym at the beginning of January as opposed to the end of the month!
2. Decide that you are in charge. This is important, since often we simply hope things will go our way, or, for example, that new job we want will just appear. The more you take responsibility for your actions – or inactions – the more accountable you will be for your own success or failure in reaching your goals.
3. Get support from others. Whether your goal is to find a new job or switch careers, you know plenty of people who have been in your exact same shoes….whether you know it or not. Connecting with people in your network and sharing your goals is a great way to ask for and receive valuable insights, stories, and important tips that can help you move forward with your goals. Your network can include family members and friends, trusted advisors and colleagues, and can extend to alumni from your college or university. The more you actively enlist others’ help and support, the quicker you will find yourself enjoying results.
4. Chart your course. How much time will you spend on achieving your new goal? For example, deciding on a date you want to leave your job is much different than saying: “I will get a new job this year.” Map it out. Write down a date you would like to land that new job, and work backwards. If your goal is June 30th, what actions will you take to get there? Deciding how much time you will spend on your job search each week, each day, or each month gives you the opportunity to build this into your calendar, and commit to doing it.
5. Know who you are. No matter what your career resolution is this year, one of the most important things you can do is get to know who you are, and what you are selling to others. What makes you different from your competitors? Who needs your unique set of skills and talents? How are you marketing yourself, from your resume to social media? The more you know who you are and what you are offering, the greater success you will have over the course of your career

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©2015 Traverse Career Solutions | Ellen Dunagan