Why New Years Resolutions Don’t Work

It’s about this time of year when folks realize that their New Year’s resolution is not working and they want to give up. Giving up is not the answer. Understanding why the resolution didn’t work can give us a fresh perspective and approach to attaining our goal. Most New Year’s resolutions have three reasons why they fail. The first being that the resolution is set without fully understanding why we have chosen a particular goal. The second is there is little to no preparation for achieving the goals. With the third and finally reason being that the goal is just too big or vague to be accomplished. The good news is that this doesn’t mean that you can’t reach your goal and stick to your resolution. What it does mean is that we need a different approach if we are to succeed.

Restarting the process should begin with why. Do you know why you picked this goal? What will you gain from achieving this goal, and is it something you truly value? Change is hard, painful, and slow. Is not achieving the goal painful enough to motivate you to keep going when it gets hard, through the pain, and for as long as it takes? Truly ask yourself if what you will gain from the resolution is going to improve your life, and if so spell it out for yourself in very minute, specific detail. For example, how will it change your life once achieved day by day, week by week, month by month, year by year? In other words, is your goal truly life changing? If it is, then we need to rethink our perspective on failure. We are often far too quick to decide that we have failed and quit moving forwards or trying to make positive progress. If your goal is life changing, don’t you owe it to yourself to keep trying?

We can keep trying when we have milestones to keep us motivated. Making the goal manageable, small steps that we can work towards on a daily or weekly basis means that we have a shorter recovery time for when we slip up. The smaller increment of time we give ourselves for each step of the goal allows us to stay on top of progress and better understand what derails us. Often, when we do this, we find that it is a lack of preparation. Do you have everything you need to be successful today, tomorrow, and into next week? Preparation is a key component to reaching any goal. I generally advise that my clients give themselves a week to contemplate and prepare what they need to reach their goal and then map out a path with clear milestones and frequent check ins to ensure that they stay on the path of progress. With this approach, you can achieve your goals and live the life you deserve.