To successfully keep your New Year's resolutions, focus on making only a few changes at a time, advises the author.

To successfully keep your New Year's resolutions, focus on making only a few changes at a time, advises the author.
To successfully keep your New Year's resolutions, focus on making only a few changes at a time, advises the author.

Forming new habits or breaking old ones is difficult, and beginning on January 1 doesn't make it any easier.

Michael J. López, a consultant, career coach, and author of the upcoming book "Change: Six science-backed strategies to transform your brain, body, and behavior," advises that the key to achieving success is to focus on one manageable task at a time.

"López advises that when coaching people, it's best to start with one goal and wait three months before adding anything new to it."

To increase your chances of success, focus on one goal at a time, such as learning a new instrument, exercising in the morning, or reducing TV watching, according to López. By achieving one goal in the first quarter, you'll be motivated to pursue other objectives.

'You experience the frustration of doing something uncomfortable'

Frequently, when we establish New Year's resolutions, we envision ourselves as someone who has already achieved the desired outcome, such as saving $5,000 or running three times a week.

Although visualization can aid in achieving our objectives, it does not factor in the effort required to attain the desired outcome.

López remarks that attempting something new involves not only the exertion but also the irritation of dealing with discomfort.

If we underestimate the difficulty of breaking a habit or forming a new one, we are setting ourselves up for failure.

"He explains that changing a habit involves giving up an old behavior and replacing it with a new one, which requires repetition. However, most individuals underestimate the time and effort required, as well as the frustration they may encounter during the process."

Start with one goal and focus on it before adding more.

To earn extra money online, sign up for CNBC's course on passive income streams, which includes tips for getting started and real-life success stories.

Sign up for CNBC Make It's newsletter to receive tips and tricks for success at work, with money and in life.

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