The last few days of 2017 are a time to look back at everything that transpired this past year, while also looking ahead to what’s in store for the upcoming year.

The year 2017 was a prosperous one for the city of LaGrange overall. That’s easy to see with all of the growth in our city over the last 12 months, and we obviously hope that growth will continue into 2018.

But what about personally? The next week is a popular time for resolutions, whether that means getting back in the gym or making financial goals for the year ahead.

The American Psychological Association recommends starting small. Don’t make a goal to exercise every day or to make it to the gym six days a week. Make a goal to work out three or four times a week. Don’t give up dessert completely. Replace that dessert with something else that you like, instead of just giving them up all at once.

The APA also recommends changing one thing at a time. Don’t reassess your entire life at once. Instead, make small changes that can become long-term.

It recommends talking about the changes you want to make with others, who may be able to share what worked or didn’t work for them.

The other big one is not to let one small mistake ruin the entire goal. If you eat a brownie and fall behind on your goal for one day, don’t give up your resolution completely. Instead, strive to do better the next day.

We all have things that we’d like to change about our lives, whether it’s our weight, our schedules or our time commitment to certain things.

The key to making a resolution is to make it achievable. You don’t throw a 5-year-old into tenth grade and expect them to suceed. For the same reason, you don’t aim to lose 10 pounds in a week. Start small and stick to it and chances are it’ll pay off in the end.