We all have goals, whether it’s exercising more or improving our diet. The important thing is figuring out why we want these things. “It takes a little bit of soul-searching,” says Robin Anderson, a registered dietitian at Revive Wellness Inc. in Edmonton. “I get people to look at the bigger picture: If you were to change your lifestyle, what would it look like? What’s important to you? Change is hard. There’s got to be something in it for people, otherwise we just get busy and we don’t do it.”

It’s also critical to find your own reasons for change, not your spouse’s or your doctor’s. “If you’re doing it because you should, not because you want to, the chances of success aren’t that great,” says Anderson.