With the New Year upon us, we have a chance to start with a clean slate and perhaps turn a new page. But as attractive as it may sound, unfortunately, most New Year’s resolutions are abandoned at the end of January. It always seems like a good idea to set yourself a new goal for next year, but there are some basic reasons why New Year’s resolutions don’t work. If you want to create real change in your life, then it is important to understand why many people do not see your proclamations flourish.
One of the reasons New Year’s resolutions don’t work is that people tend to take on too much when writing their list. Some of these lists are like novels. The synopsis would say, “I want to change the whole of who I am in one year.” This is a recipe for disaster; no one can keep so many resolutions. And it can also serve as a reminder of all the things you don’t like about yourself, which are more likely to make you run for ice cream in your freezer, than run to the gym.
Another reason New Years resolutions don’t work is that they are often based on things that you think you are supposed to do, and not necessarily on things that you want to do. You think you should exercise more, you think you should lose weight, you think you should quit smoking, you think you should start journaling. These are all good things, but if you really don’t want to do them, then there is nothing that motivates you to keep doing it. These kinds of resolutions can stress you out. The real passion behind your goal is what it takes to keep your butt going for everything to happen.
Naturally, we are all really excited when we first make our New Years resolutions. The last thing anyone wants is to see their dreams go flat. This is an effective way to create genuine change in your future. Choose one area of your life that you would like to improve and focus on making small steps of progress in that area. By taking things slowly, you are much more likely to go ahead and take things day by day. And who says you have to wait for the New Year? The rest of your life begins now.
