New Years resolutions…..we all make them and we rarely stick to them. In fact, according to Statistic Brain only 8% of those who set resolutions achieve them. But why? Why is it so hard to make a New Years resolution such as exercising more or eating healthier so difficult to follow through with? I’ve thought a lot about this topic and I’m going to give you 4 reasons why New Years resolutions don’t often work. My hope is that you can set New Years resolutions this year that are attainable!
You’re making the decision for the wrong reason
When you make a change in your lifestyle, YOU have to be willing to make that change. It can’t just be a change that you try to make because it’s “the thing to do” at this time of the year. If you lack the motivation to follow through, you will not succeed. Proper motivation is the path to all of life’s successes. If you’re going to make a resolution to make a change, make sure that you’re making that decision for you and not for someone else or some reason other than for yourself. That will give you the best chance to succeed!
Your resolution is unrealistic for your lifestyle
Let’s take for example someone who eats fast food 5 times a week. If their New Years resolution is to stop eating fast food, that’s a very unrealistic resolution for their lifestyle. If their resolution is to eat fast food 2 times a week instead of 5, that’s a much more realistic and obtainable goal for them that they can achieve. Rome wasn’t built in a day so if you have bad habits, trying to go cold turkey on something is a good way to fail at changing your habits.
Fulfilling your resolution doesn’t change your life
Often times people think, if I lose weight, my entire life will change. I will become more confident, more positive and all my life problems will disappear. So they work super hard, lose weight but inside, they still feel the same. When their life problems aren’t solved by losing the weight, they revert back to previous habits. To me, happiness is very much a mindset. You make your life what you want it to be. I made a decision a long time ago to live a positive lifestyle and that has solved a lot of my “life problems.” I encourage you to make that same decision or otherwise you’ll find that you’re always searching for the “greener grass.”
Not being specific enough in your goals
If your goal is to lose 15lbs, that is not specific enough. You are better to set a goal of I will go to the gym 2 times a week and cut pop out of my diet to lose 15lbs. Losing weight is such a vague goal that it may be hard to start let alone follow through with unless you set specific guidelines for yourself. I like accountability in goal making so the more accountable you can make a goal, the better chance you have of you succeeding. Make your goals very specific and write them down somewhere where you can see them every single day!
-Dr. Brian Damhoff
