Why New Year's Resolutions Fail - What to Do About it

Already blowing your New Year’s Resolution? Maybe it’s not you, but what you chose…

I’ve been reading a lot of articles and posts about New Year’s Resolutions lately. Most of them talk about ways to keep your pledge. Well-meaning and eager to have a better year, we make plans and start on our journey to eating less, exercising more, spending less, and other declarations of change. But here’s the thing. According to US News 80% of New Year’s resolutions FAIL by the second week of February. Yikes!

Maybe it’s not that you can’t stick with what you thought would be a great change; it could be you’ve decided on something too broad “exercise more” (how much more?) or too out of character “read 1 book a week” when you really don’t like to read. A lot of people proclaim their new resolve but don’t take a lot of steps towards actually fulfilling it. Why? It doesn’t resonate with them on a tangible level. They would like to be better, but taking the steps to do so? Pretty tough unless they’ve chosen something really meaningful to them.

Change doesn’t happen unless you finally reach the point where you think believe you NEED to change. If you’ve made a New Year’s resolution, but you haven’t really made much progress towards it yet, ask yourself the following questions:

1. Did I resolve for something that I need to change or really want to do?

2. If I chose something that’s a little broad, how can I narrow it down to steps I can take daily, weekly or monthly to achieve it?

3. What am I hoping to gain by working towards this change?

4. Can I find support somewhere, maybe a friend with a similar goal or a group so I can get ideas on how to make this change?

5. Can I realistically accomplish this resolution in one year?

6. What would happen if I don’t make this change?

If your answers surprise you, maybe it’s time to decide on a different goal for 2019. It’s still early in January, you can redefine what you want to accomplish this year!

Looking for motivation to make small changes in your life that lead to big results? Reach out to me to get started!

Happy New Year!