MADISON, Wis. -- The New Year brings a new mindset for many and many are using that new frame of mind to set New Year's resolutions.

Almost half of all Americans set New Year's resolutions, but 25 percent of those goals fail within the first week and half are canned within six months, expert say. So, why do we even make them?

"A New Year is like a fresh start and a chance to get something right," Hilldale Mall shopper Tamara Parks said.

Parks said her resolution this year is to live more simply. Parks, like many, said that she sees the New Year as a clean slate. In fact, 40 to 45 percent of Americans make at least one resolution for the upcoming New Year.

Dr. Ken Robbins, of Stoughton Hospital, said everyone has their own reason.

"I think the meaningful resolutions are people who are really unhappy about something about themselves -- something that makes them anxious," Robbins said.

The most common resolutions focus around health and well-being. And while half don't follow through with their resolutions after six months. Robbins said those resolutions are still very important.

"One of the problems that we have, as Americans, is we tend to get on a conveyor belt," Robbins said. "And suddenly, we're 80 years old, and we never really took the time to figure out what's important to us and how do we get the things that are important to us."

Robbins said New Year or not, take time and set some goals. Just don't aim too high, so you set yourself up for failure.