It’s that time of year, when everyone is setting goals, and making plans to make the New Year their best one yet. The reality is that most people who set intentions for the new year let them go before the second week of January even starts. You may have done this too. You get really excited about deciding to lose weight, start a business or organize the house. You may even be full steam ahead the entire first week. Then, the weekend rolls around and you miss a work out, or you skip a healthy meal, or you procrastinate on working on those big business goals. What is it about New Year’s resolutions that causes them to fail? And, how can you prevent your resolution from getting left in the dust? Here are three fixes that may help:
First, your goal may be too big. The number one cause of giving up on a resolution is overwhelm. Perhaps you decided to lose 50-100 lbs this year. That’s a large goal, and can quickly feel like it’s too big to manage. Instead, you should start with a smaller goal that feels more manageable. For example, don’t think about a large number. Break it down significantly to something like a half a pound per week, or even one pound a month. This feels easier and may help propel you towards success.
You may have set too many resolutions. Most people can only handle one or two changes at a time. When we decide to make lots of changes at once, it simply feels too difficult, making it easier to justify giving up. Motivational gurus Chalene Johnson and Michael Hyatt recommend habit stacking. Make one change that you get used to for a while, and then slowly add in additional changes one at a time.
You’re focusing on what you’re losing rather than what you are gaining. If you have made the decision to eat healthier for example, you shouldn’t be focusing on all the snacks and cakes you can’t enjoy anymore. You should be focusing on the things you will be able to eat. Hypnotherapist Marisa Peer suggests using the phrase “I’m choosing to” to replace the phrase “I can’t.” This simple tweak of thinking about “choosing to” eat healthy in place of “I can’t have” pizza or pie or whatever your vice is can make a world of difference.
Hopefully these three changes will help you reframe your New Year’s Resolutions to help you succeed in making them realities. As a final note, I’ll leave you with this – instead of waiting to make a change for a new year, new month or even a new week, go ahead and make changes when you’re ready to. The key to lasting change is to take the pressure off. And, if you slip up, don’t beat yourself up and/or give up. Remember that every single day is a new opportunity to make your dreams come true.