There’s almost one month to go until the end of the year, and chances are you’re one of the thousands of Americans who set a New Year’s resolution that unfortunately did not come to fruition.

According to U.S. News & World Report, 80 percent of resolutions fail by the second week of February, and when all is said and done, only 8 percent of resolutions are successful.

Before you decide to let the rest of the year go and set a new resolution in January, remember you can set small goals any day of the year. It doesn’t only have to be a once-a-year event on Jan. 1. In fact, you might find more success in your goals if you set smaller ones throughout the year that will ultimately lead you to achieving a larger goal.

Your goals should be both realistic and specific.

If you want to save $1,000 by the end of the year when you haven’t been saving any money in the last 11 months, that might be a bit of a stretch. Come up with something more attainable based on your own budget.

Instead of saying you want to lose weight by the end of the year, your goal should include how much weight — again, saying you want to lose 50 pounds by the end of the year isn’t attainable. Instead, try something more like 10 pounds.

Want to declutter or downsize? Try taking one box of items you would like to give away and drop them off at the Salvation Army by the end of the year. The Salvation Army receives fewer donations during the winter, so it would benefit both them and you. If you’re feeling really ambitious, try to do one box a week for the rest of the year.

Once you have your goals in mind, it is always helpful to write them down and share them with people who are around you so they can — if you want them to — help you when you need it.

We all have the opportunity to start over each day, so there’s still time to set and reach some goals before the end of the year.

— Fergus Falls Daily Journal