New Year Resolutions
New Year Resolutions can be difficult to keep. In this informational article, Allison Robinson describes why this is and ways to keep goals active.
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New Year, New Goals
New Year, New Goals
By Allison Robinson
Millions of people around the world follow a common trend seen at the beginning of every year while trying to achieve their New Years’ resolutions. They start off strong, still attaining the motivation to work toward their newly established goals, but by the end of February, almost half of those who set goals in the first place have already given up. At the end of March, 80% of people are no longer aspiring to complete their beginning of the year goals, according to Kathy Caprino, journalist for Forbes magazine.
Giving up on New Years’ resolutions creates a pattern of surrendering oneself to a lack of motivation. There are many causes of this failure, but most people fail for a specific variety of reasons. As journalist Mark Abadi from Insider magazine says, the most common occurrence is that the goal is not specific enough. The vagueness of a resolution such as “lose weight” or “exercise more” causes people to fail because there is not a specific set number to achieve. There are no ways to mark progress, so many give up because they feel like they are not going anywhere. Another reason that many fail is because they word their goals negatively. “Don’t eat junk food” is demotivating because it makes people feel like they are doing something wrong. Instead, try wording a goal as “Eat two healthy snacks per day” or “Eat carrots as a healthy snack.” This will help stimulate positive emotions toward the resolution.
Photo Credit: Peter Dazeley/Getty Images
While creating New Years’ resolutions, make sure that each goal is individual to you. If it is not a goal that you think will be motivating and worth the time, do not strive for it. Many people fall into this trap of feeling the need to have the same goals as others instead of setting themself up for their vision of success. It is okay to have different goals than the majority of society.
Do not overwhelm yourself. Abadi reminds that there is an entire year to complete each goal. It is not called a “January” resolution, it is a “New Year” resolution. It is okay to not reach your goal right away. The next time these resolutions are set is a year from now. Allow slow progression from January to December. It is okay to have lags in your motivation and sometimes to start and stop your progression throughout the year. There is not a set success and failure because you have twelve months to get to where you want to be.
In order to stay accountable, have a buddy that you can check in with and who will check in with you about the progression you both are making. Caprino presents the idea of having the thought in your mind of “What are the key themes that I want to expand on and bring into focus next year, and for what desired outcome?” not “What do I need to change to make myself better?” Allow yourself room to grow, do not try to force it into a small, stressful amount of time. You’ve got this. It will be extremely rewarding to look back through the year in December and be able to say, “I did it.”
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