Looking back on the year is an important way to evaluate your life and set goals for the year ahead. One of my favorite ways to do this is by making resolutions for the new year. The problem with resolutions, though, is that they can be hard to stick to if you don't know how to hold yourself accountable every day. Read this article to learn 7 easy ways you can help keep yourself on track this year!

Hold Yourself Accountable for Your Own Resolutions

The best way to do this is to create a list of things you want to accomplish in your life and review it on a regular basis. You may also want to keep a journal with all the resolutions you make and keep track of the ones you achieve. A good way to hold yourself accountable is by telling your friends what your resolutions are and asking them for help when needed.

Celebrate Small Victories

It's important to have self-accountability in order to change your habits. It can be challenging to keep up with your resolutions, but if you celebrate small victories, it will help you stay on track. For instance, if you're trying to eat healthier, it's important to measure the progress that you're making. Starting off by drinking more water throughout the day is a great way of reminding yourself that you're taking one step in the right direction.

Reward Yourself

On the first day of each month, it is important to set a goal for that month. It should be something you want to work towards so that by the end of the month, you have achieved it. You can do this with any type of goal. But, your reward for achieving your goal should be something you want!

Safely Reflect on Your Progress

It's important to give yourself some time to reflect on your successes and failures. There are a lot of helpful tools on the internet that can help you with this. For example, one website I found lets you take a picture of something similar to what you want to accomplish and then marks it as complete when you succeed. This is a great way for people who find it difficult to hold themselves accountable on their own.

Keep a Positive Environment Around You

What we do to ourselves and those around us is what we will get back. Stay positive. The more you watch happy videos, music, and people the easier it will be to stay positive and focused on your goals.

Write Down your Goals

It's easy to get excited and start making resolutions, such as "I'm going to lose weight," but actually accomplishing them is a whole different story. It's important to take the time to write down what your goals are so you can stay accountable for them. Write down how you're going to reach your goal and what you plan on doing if you don't. This way, when a day comes that you want to cheat or give up, you'll be able to remind yourself of why it was worth it in the end.

Remain Mindful of Your Mental State

Awareness of your mental state is key.  If you're feeling unmotivated or less than confident, understand that it's natural to feel these emotions. These challenges are a sign that you may need to make some changes in order to stay on track for success. It's important to keep reminding yourself of your goal and what might happen if you give up now.

Take a step back and realize what you have accomplished. You’ve set goals for yourself and planned out how you are going to achieve them. Take pride in seeing how far you have come and don’t allow negative thoughts to get in the way of your success.