Why New Year's Resolutions Fail

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

It’s that time of year again…

It’s the start of the new year. 

The new year is a time when many people think about what they want to accomplish for the year. 

That’s great. Making goals and working towards them is a great thing!

However, these new year’s resolutions rarely stick for us.

We quickly fall off the wagon… Usually before the end of January.

We want to make the change, but by the end of the month we burn ourselves out, give up, or simply lose interest in making the change.

And so we say “maybe next year” and call it a day. We give up too quickly. We give up before the journey even started.

We don’t give ourselves enough time to incorporate our resolutions into our life. 

We don’t even integrate them into our daily routine.

Sound familiar?

There are many reasons why we might fail to keep our resolutions. But the biggest reason underlies many of the smaller reasons that we fall off the wagon.

The biggest reason why we don’t keep our new year’s resolutions?

Because deep down we aren’t making the resolution to better ourselves. We are making the resolution because it’s the start of a new year.

You might be thinking “Well, of course, I am making the resolution to improve my life. The new year just provides a great opportunity to start.”

If you’re thinking that, you’re right. 

However, why not start anytime? Why not start before the new year? Why not June? Why not today?

Because giving a start date of January 1st gives us time to procrastinate until then. We don’t have to make a change until then. We don’t have to put in any effort until then.

There’s no special advantage in making a life change on January 1st. Or on any day in particular. January 1st is just another day on the calendar. That’s all that date means. 

However, if you want to make a change, do it immediately the day you think about it. Not the next day. Not the next week. Not the next month. Not the next year. Do it today. 

There is immense power in making a change the day you first start thinking about it.

By taking action today, you’ll start making progress. Think of how much progress you can make starting immediately when you want to make the change versus waiting a month or two… or more.

Plus, you’ll improve your peace of mind by starting as soon as you think about making the change. It will bother you much less than letting the thought stay in your mind and not doing anything about it. 

Yes, it will take time to make the change. But by immediately starting to make a change, it reduces the stress that the thought has on you.

If you want to make a change, make sure you are doing it for the right reasons. Do it because you want to get fitter, to learn, to lose weight, to be a better version of yourself, and so on.

Don’t procrastinate. It will only increase your suffering and hold you back from making a change that could significantly improve your life!