Most of us fail in our endeavors at some point in our lives, whether it's a New Year's resolution or a health goal you are working on. These setbacks make us human, not a failure.

Our willpower and motivation are not what makes us succeed, but our dusting ourselves up and getting back in the game.

Schedule your habits by giving them a specific space in your daily waking hours. You can put it in your calendar, or link it to your current behavior patterns. 

Create a system around your existing life to incorporate the new habit.

Even doing something small towards your goal can help build a daily routine.

Example: Instead of skipping the morning jog entirely due to lack of time, one can jog for a few minutes.

Having a person overlooking you and noting your progress, like a friend, teammate or coach can work wonders on your daily motivation.

Having a familiar face around you can be reason enough to show up daily.

Focusing on what we have, what the positive side is, and what opportunity arises out of the current situation, is the answer to sticking with our goals.

Instead of excuses, one can find ways to progress, maybe taking a different approach.

Less than perfect is still beneficial. Something is better than nothing.

90 % of our results will hinge on us sticking to the fundamentals.

We normally think we need more motivation and willpower to succeed. But motivation is inconsistent and fickle, and you cannot rely on it daily. You would need to hack your environment, and design the surroundings around you to facilitate progress towards the goals.

Example: If your goal is to floss every night, keeping it near your toothbrush helps you do it more than just deciding to do it.

If the habits that you are trying to inculcate in you are dear to you, you won't need much motivation or willpower.

Setting goals related to what we care for provides us with the best use of our limited energy and it gives us a bigger probability to succeed.