UNITED STATES—For most people, its February, and at this point many people may have given up on their New Year’s Resolution, but for myself I’m still going strong after about 6 weeks into the New Year. I made a bunch of resolutions, but the biggest I have stuck to is not eating fast food. Yes, it might be daunting for some people, but for me after the first week things became much easier.

I’m not craving fast-food in any capacity, my overall health feels great, like I’m cooking healthy meals each day and the biggest thing that I’ve noticed is the amount of money that I’m saving. Like, I’ve saved a ton of money in a little over a month by ridding myself of something that is not as healthy, as I wish it were. I’m hoping people around me take notice, but it’s apparent my health fix hasn’t rubbed off on them, but they are indeed impressed with my dedication to the goal.

I am a firm believer that if there is something you want to accomplish it can happen, you just have to focus your energies on the thing(s) that you want to accomplish and nothing else. Beyond that resolution, I’ve also forbid myself from indulging in soda. Yep, no soda for the past 30 plus days and I’ve been drinking plenty of water and I just feel my health getting better and better each day because of these health, food and diet changes that I have made. I’ve also kicked out the habit of sugary snacks like candy. While the temptation is there, I’m still able to curb that temptation by focusing my attention on reading, exercising or watching a movie.

For those who have fallen off the bandwagon on your resolution, that does not mean you cannot get back on track. If you have a slip that does not mean you just give up on your resolution. If it’s something that you think will make you a better person, impact your health or have some sort of social change in the world, there is no reason you should challenge yourself to achieve. Perhaps, the most important thing with setting any resolution is to look at it as a lifestyle change. If you implement it permanently versus a temporary fix that can give one the motivational push to not easily fold when things don’t turn out the way they expected. It also helps your resolution when you surround yourself around people looking to achieve similar goals, while also limiting yourself from environments or people who might impact your behavior or influence bad habits you’re attempting to curb to return front and center.

Anything worth fighting for never comes without a battle. In life, if we easily got everything we ever wanted without having to put up a battle or two to achieve it; we would never understand the importance of hard work. That is not a quality you want to teach your children, who nowadays think anything they want should just naturally be given to them without just cause. When you set a resolution it allows you to discover that with restraint and commitment nothing can stop you from accomplishing something that you want to attain.