We are all so tempted to dream big in the new year. We make vision boards and set big, bold, ambitious goals for things we wish to do or accomplish in the next 365 days.

I am not a New Year Resolution person. I sometimes come up with a theme or a guiding approach I want to emphasize, but specific goals have always been tough for me mentally. I set big goals and then beat myself up when I don’t reach them. I feel like a failure and then I self-sabotage in other ways. It’s a terrible cycle to fall into and devastating for my mental health.

My new approach is more successful though. I set goals based on where I am now. I’m not setting a goal to lose 50 pounds. I’m setting a goal to lose a half a pound per week. That means my goal resets every seven days. Setting a goal that is a small stretch from where we currently are means we’re more likely to think it’s achievable and more likely to keep working at it.

Set goals that are just beyond our current abilities. If there’s too big a discrepancy between where we are and where we’ve promised ourselves we’re going, it’s too easy to lose momentum and confidence along the way. I’m not trying to run a marathon this year. I’m trying to get 10,000 steps a day for 30 days in a row. I’m not trying to be debt free this year, I’m trying to pay off one debt and free up that monthly bill payment for other things.

I’ve said it many times before, but small successes add up to big ones. Set yourself a goal that’s a challenge, but not an overwhelming one. Set a goal that will be hard but doable. Those are the ones where you’ll likely see success and build momentum for bigger future goals.

Reverse engineer it. Figure out your big goal and then break it into pieces. Turn the path from where you are to where you want to be into a roadmap or a recipe. Put those pieces together and you’ll get what you’re hoping for.

Don’t shoot yourself in the foot by setting a goal that’s so ambitious you don’t know where to start and feel hopeless and like a failure. You set yourself up to fail but not starting in a reasonable place and making a reasonable leap. Improvement takes time. Give yourself the best chance of success and then build from there.

Small goals with moderate improvements build a much more solid infrastructure and generate more lasting change.