Two weeks have passed since the beginning of 2014. Did you make some promises to yourself and as Dr. Phil says, how’s that going for you?

If you vowed to make a few changes in your life and it’s not going so well, here are four suggestions from Dr. John Maxwell that may help you not give up entirely.

• You will never change your life until you change something that you do daily. – Experts say that it takes a minimum of 90 days to begin to change a habit. If you are giving up now you may have not been committed in the first place. Re-examine your commitment to the change you want to make and if you are still committed, give it 90 days.

• You cannot manage what you can’t measure. – Were your goals specific enough? Did you say “I’m going to take off a few pounds” or I’m going to lose 10 pounds by February 1^st?” Being specific allows you to assess your progress.

• Set realistic expectations for your improvement. – If your goal was unrealistic and unattainable then failure was inevitable. Use some common sense and break your goal into small achievable parts. When you can celebrate successes along the way you won’t get as discouraged and are more likely to succeed.

• Focus. – Make sure you see your goals every day. Post them on the wall, put them on an index card and carry them with you, or make them the wallpaper on your computer or phone. Seeing them will help you focus.

Stay motivated. Go to www.johnmaxwellteam.com  and signup for a daily motivational video from Dr. Maxwell.