Every January, an interesting phenomena happens: there’s a mad rush to get back to the gym; get back in shape; lose the extra weight gained over the holidays. Gyms teem with the well-intentioned. Yoga, spin and other exercise classes are packed with the dedicated. It’s a new year and a new start.

However, by February, class numbers drop. The gym is looking a little empty. The same people who were so fired up to hit the treadmill at the first of the year are a little less inclined to do so, opting instead to get another hour of sleep in the morning or head straight home after work in the evening. Unfortunately, once the slip starts, the tendency to give up altogether many times follows.

It doesn’t have to be the case. Many see such slip-ups — skipping exercise or breaking the rules of a diet with dessert or comfort food — as failure. And once they have failed, then the rationale is that there’s no reason to continue working toward those goals. But the path to better health doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing endeavor. Failure occurs here when one gives up instead of recognizing fallibility and that lapses in effort and judgement can be part of any endeavor.

The key to success is waking up the next day and starting over. Just because most people view New Year’s Day as the official starting point of a given resolution, it doesn’t mean one can’t start again — if necessary, over and over again — throughout the rest of the year.

The road to success doesn’t necessarily have to be a straight one, but it does have to be a dedicated one. So come February, when the temptation to give up rears its ugly head, go ahead and give up, but only for a moment. Every day, every workout, every meal, is a potential new start.