To all of you who made New Year’s resolutions this year: Congratulations! You’ve finished Day One!

You got started. You took that first step. Sometimes, that can seem like the hardest part of the whole journey. Just getting started.

But it’s not the only hard part. Later, in mid January, we’ll be bumping into another challenge: keeping with it. It turns out that most people give up on their New Year’s resolutions on January 12th. After only 12 days.

Research shows that it usually takes 21 days to form a simple habit, like drinking an extra glass of water every day or going for a run in the morning. But it takes about 66 days to form a more complex habit. And we’re giving up on day 12.

This year, lets live intentionally. Let’s focus daily on our goals and remember why we made them. Let’s keep our resolutions through to the 67th day. Maybe even the 267th. Maybe even all year!

Let’s celebrate every day that we keep stepping forward into a healthier and happier New Year.

There’s a quote that I keep seeing on Facebook: “[Today] is the first blank page of a 365 page book. Write a good one” by Brad Paisley. What do you want your story to be about? Who are the characters that you plan to give a starring role to? What events do you want to make happen? What people and things do you want to cut out of your story?

Live intentionally. Live purposefully. Choose happiness. And enjoy every moment you can.

This is going to be the best year ever. Happy New Year!