Have you started making your list for New Year’s resolutions yet? According to one study, only 7 percent of adults say they stuck to their resolutions and completed them all during the year. 

Yet every year we go through a ritual of making plans with the best intentions, only to find ourselves forgetting about them a few weeks after the beginning of the year. Is there a way to give yourself a better chance of completing your goals?

The problem with most goals is they never associate a why with it. 

For piano lessons, why do you want to learn? Why now? 

The stronger your why, the more chance you have of following through. Spend some time linking it to other areas of your life. For example, did you know that playing the piano is a great stress reliever? Did you know that playing the piano can help memory? 

You can also look back at what’s prevented you from starting before now. Piano playing is often a hobby that people put off. Have you found yourself saying:

I’ll do it someday. Like any activity, in order to bring it into your life, you have to spend the time on it. If not now, when? We’re always “too busy” or in “too much of a hurry.” The key is giving yourself the chance to bring it into your life. 

It’s too late for me to be good at it, why bother? Playing the piano isn’t something that comes with age. We all love watching the ten-year-old prodigies that have a special knack for playing the piano. But they are the exception to the rule. Anyone can start at any age and thoroughly enjoy their time sitting at the piano. Playing the piano is about enjoying what you do, not necessarily becoming a master at piano playing. 

If you want to play the piano, there is no better time than right now. 

The best way to get started is to start right now. Set up a goal, find a learning method that you can stick with, and reward yourself along the way. The more progress you see, the more motivation you’ll have to keep going. 

And have fun with it. That’s the whole reason to play the piano. Play the music you love. Challenge yourself to get better. And enjoy it every day.