Break the giant goal into small, specific actions. Things you honestly can commit to. Things that are nearly a no-brainer to accomplish. Why? Because you’ll get it done.

Think about it — which one of these would absolutely, 100 percent get done in your schedule, no ifs, ands or buts: Do five jumping jacks a day or go to the gym five days a week?

I know what you’re thinking: Five lousy jumping jacks aren’t going to get me anywhere near being healthier. True. But they’re a start. When you do them, you’ll create the energy and motivation to do more. If five are all you do to move your body that day, you have succeeded. Feeling success is way more encouraging than beating yourself up about failing. Because, really, where has the beating-yourself-up part ever got you? Once five jumping jacks are routine, then add the next small, specific action.

Is this the year you want to start meditating? Commit to a few minutes a day, not a half hour. You’ll drive yourself crazy, most likely, and soon give up. That’s where I started — about five minutes. I was free to go after that. And meditation is crazy hard for me; my mind goes at warp speed the bulk of the time. But I could do five minutes. That expanded over time to a pretty consistent 15-20 minute a day practice. And that worked for me. In the past, when I tried to commit to the lengthy times I knew others embraced … whew, what an exercise in frustration. Getting frustrated by a new health practice is not good for your health.

Want to drink more water? If you don’t drink any — or much — at the moment, here’s your goal: one glass a day. Pinch your nose, down the stuff, and give yourself a gold star. Your body will progress and soon two glasses will seem easy. Etc. And the taste for drinks with sugar or caffeine — or both — will begin to fade away.

Don’t set resolutions, set intentions. Then create small, specific, actions that will carry you toward that intention. At the end of the year, you will have forged a nice, new path, not gotten lost in the woods yet again.