Today is Wednesday, Jan. 9, which means your New Year’s resolutions are a little over a week into their gnat-like life spans. Soon, your promises to workout more, eat right and start your homework before 1 a.m. will become little more than a distant memory.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: “I’m different. My resolutions aren’t just talk.” Sadly, that was the optimistic battle cry of many fallen resolutionaries.

To put it kindly, the odds on Stanford making it to the BCS championship game next year are better than the chances of you keeping your resolutions. Statistics say that by February, 92 percent will have already gone the way of the boy band era.

Try to think of your New Year’s resolutions as child stars. They might get some early success, but ultimately they will end up on a late night infomercial selling cheap cleaning materials, never really amounting to anything more than a forgettable catchphrase.

The question is, “Why is the success rate of these self-help fantasies so low?” Are we simply incapable of change? Are we destined to be slightly overweight procrastinators forever?

Obvious evidence, such as the Civil Rights Movement and evolution, shows that change is not only possible but indeed inevitable. In addition, the fact that we are not all wearing diapers proves that personal, habitual alteration is also feasible.

The only reason that resolutions as a whole fail miserably is because people are trying to fix every problem they have all at once. The symbolic start of the New Year fills people with a desire to be the best they can instantly.

Attempting to tackle all of your personal imperfections at once is extremely overwhelming and will end up being as effective as a melting UW utensil. The overwhelming pressure and lack of immediate results drives nearly all resolutions to an early demise.

The only way to truly turn a promise into a habit is through a conscious, daily focus on a single goal. Make a consistent effort to go to the gym every other day, denying utterances of scapegoat excuses like “It’s too cold” or “I’ll just do it tomorrow” to even enter your mind.

This concentrated firepower will not only allow your resolution to experience a little more time on this earth — it will also maximize its potential to actually be effective.

More importantly, it needs to be remembered that taking steps toward self-change can be started at any time of the year.

The collective pressure of a worldwide introspection during an arbitrary point in a reoccurring cycle allows us to believe that there is a “fresh start.” But in reality, Jan. 1 isn’t any different than Dec. 31, and you’re still the same person you were yesterday.

Although this transition can be a great mental starting line in the race to self-improvement, it should not be a limiting factor on when personal changes can take place. A workout routine started in mid-March is just as valid as one started in early January.

Don’t lose faith when your resolutions meet their inevitable defeat. Instead, vow to take on one problem at the start of next month instead of waiting for them all to pile up again next year. Slowly but surely, you can and will notice change.

But hang on to that feeling of pride, knowing that for the last nine days you’ve gone running a couple times, done three homework assignments before midnight and haven’t consumed more than one Hostess Ding Dong.

Just don’t be surprised if in a couple weeks from now, you find yourself attempting your physics assignment at 2:30 a.m. while devouring a few Twinkies as your running shoes silently weep and continue to collect dust in the corner.

Good luck!

[Reach columnist Jeff Dickson at opinion@thedaily.washington.edu.]