Today is the day you’re likely to give up on your New Year's resolution

You may have started the year with the best intentions — to be nicer to your mother-in-law, to finally quit that nasty smoking habit, or to drop an extra 10 (or 20) pounds — but it turns out that Jan. 24 is the day that most people are likely to give up on their New Year’s resolutions.

Counseling Psychologist Aisling Curtin dubs today “Turnback Tuesday.”

“Research shows that at about three and a half weeks in, that’s when we’re at the most danger of breaking resolutions or breaking any new habits or pattern that we kind of want to engage in that’s overall healthier and better for our overall wellbeing,” Curtin said in an interview with Today FM.

That doesn’t mean we simply give up on our resolutions, we just have to change our attitudes toward them. In her blog post, “How to make Mindful New Year’s Resolutions worth keeping,” Aisling provides some tips on how to set (and keep) realistic New Year’s goals:

• First, think about and connect to why you want to make a specific resolution. If you’re solely doing it because you think you have to, that might not be enough.

• Hold yourself accountable – tell a loved one about your resolution, be clear with what you want in terms of support.

• Make a recording as to why the resolution is important to you.

• Every day spend a few minutes reconnecting with why the resolution is important (i.e. through journaling).

• Admit that it’s human nature to make mistakes. Learn from your lapse and get back on track… Even if it happens to be three and a half weeks into the New Year.

How are your New Year’s resolutions going? Let us know by tweeting @YahooStyleCA!