New year resolutions: why we fail at them and how to get better
Making resolutions for the New Year is a habit that dates back 4000 years ago to ancient Babylon. At the start of a new year, the people offered sacrifices to the gods and made promises to repay their debt and return any items borrowed. These promises if kept were rewarded with good fortune by the gods.
Over the years, this habit has become widespread among people of all ethnicities and religions. It has evolved from pagan sacrifices and promises to firm decisions for change in the New Year. According to the data available, the majority of adults make resolutions for the New Year with 39 percent of adults in the United States, making resolutions for 2022.
But while it is a popular New Year ritual, how effective are resolutions in creating change? I’d say, not very. In a 2018 survey, it was recorded that eighty percent of resolution makers fail within 30 days and only eight percent are successful by the end of the year.
Leaving the question, are New Year resolutions a bad idea? Yes and no
Why New Year resolutions fail
The number one reason for the failure of New Year resolutions is their ambiguity and vagueness. A quick Google search for New Year resolution ideas will lead you to points like; become more organized, follow your passion, lose weight, stop gossiping. Etc. And while these are written down with the best intention, they do not present a definite plan of action.
The result? People are only able to keep up their resolutions for 30 days or less before they give up and return to their old habits.
How to succeed with New Year resolutions
Be specific!!!!
To achieve anything in life, you need to know what exactly it is you want. Meaning, don’t just write a big umbrella resolution, rather attach a figure and or deadline to it. A good example is a resolve to lose weight in the New Year. So while it is a clear desire to get trim in the New Year, lose 60 pounds by December 31st, 2023 is a more specific goal in that direction.
Create milestones
When you get specific about what you want in the New Year, create milestones to make achieving it easier. Milestones also allow you to measure your progress. Going back to our ‘lose 60 pounds by the end of the year example’, there are 12 months in a year, which means you need to lose 5 pounds each month.
Create a plan of action
After you set milestones, you need to create a plan to meet your milestones. This is important because no matter how specific you get with your goals if you don’t know what to do; you will fall back into your old habits.
For instance, from our earlier example, Now that you know you need to lose 5 pounds a month to hit your goal for the year; you need to determine how you are going to lose these 5 pounds per month.
Your action plan may include, meal prep every Sunday for the week ahead, joining a gym and going 5 times a week, running a mile every morning, etc. just make sure the plan starts small and progresses to more advanced habits, you don’t want to scare yourself away from your goals so start small.
If you follow these tips your resolution should be like this:
Resolution — lose 60 pounds by December 31st, 2023
Milestone — lose 5 pounds a month in 2023
Action plan :
- Meal prep for each week, actual food not junk
- Go jogging down the street each morning
- Skip 100 each morning
I hope you found these tips helpful and a happy new year in advance.