Why New Year’s Resolutions Don’t Work
Did you recently set some New Year’s resolutions? You probably made some last year — and the year before as well. Right?
In fact about 45% of American’s make resolutions each year. But as you look back at previous years, did you actually keep any of them? If you answered no don’t feel bad, most people don’t see it through.
Let’s face it … it’s a little silly waiting all year to decide on one thing that you sort of want to stop doing, but you know you’re not really committed to following through with it anyway. The truth is, resolutions simply don’t work.
First off, there’s no commitment or motivation.
A recent study showed that only 40% of American’s actually kept their resolutions for the entire year.
Why? Because there was no commitment!
Most people take a problem that really has no meaning to you and try to fix it. Your resolutions lack a true foundation of meaning so you pretty much run out of steam. You may get a little boost of motivation at the start of your journey, but it never lasts. It’s just not sustainable.
What you need is something that has more meaning to you. It needs to be something that is truly important to you. That is the only way you will have confidence and the motivation.
Resolutions are all about what you THINK you should do
Lose weight… Find love… Get organized…Learn something new…
All of these sound great, but what usually happens is you base your resolution on what you think you should be doing, rather than what you want to be doing.
Most resolutions are based on looking at others expectations like seeing these “get fit in the new year” articles in magazines and social media. Well forget about what others think you should be doing and look at what you want!
The timing is wrong
For starters, you are coming back from the holidays and getting back to reality when you see the entire year ahead of you on that calendar! It’s not very inspiring.
And why wait all year to make a choice about something anyway? Why are you waiting for one particular day to make a decision when there are 364 other great days available to make a decision on?
Reflect on the changes you’d like to see in yourself and Instead of making resolutions try setting reachable goals. By doing this, you liberate yourself from feeling like a failure when you reach for a doughnut, glass of wine or a cigarette. This year, try embarking on a long term journey, rather than a quick fix. I promise, small changes in your life will last longer, which will make for a better you.
