People believe that a new year is a chance to start fresh. But in reality, as the excitement of the new year fades, ambitions to lose a few pounds, save more money or go green do too.

According to Quirkology, 52 percent of people are confident that they will stick to their New Year’s resolutions. However, only 12 percent of them will actually succeed in achieving their goals.

With statistics like that, what’s the point of making a goal for the new year?

During the rush of the holidays when you decide that you want to become healthier or earn better grades in school, there’s no doubt that you truly want to. But wanting something and achieving something are two completely different things.

It seems like most people make New Year’s resolutions because they think they should do it, not because they really want to.

People don’t stick to their resolutions because they mostly bite off more than they can chew. They tell themselves something ridiculous like, “I’ll go to the gym five times a week and I’ll lose 50 pounds by the end of February.”

When people realize that their goals are going to require hard work, they get scared and forget about their resolutions altogether.

Quirkology gives three suggestions for keeping your New Year’s resolution: set specific goals, share your resolutions with others, and focus on the benefits of achieving the resolution.

In just a few days, the new year will be here. Is there something you want to achieve? Will you be able to beat the odds and accomplish it?