Why Do New Year's' Resolutions Fail?

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The New Year adeptly heralds in a new chapter in the book that is life - and with new beginnings, there is always hope for growth and self-improvement. But even with this new chapter, only 12% of people will actually experience real change by sticking with their New Year’s Resolutions. That is, over 156 million people will give up on their goals faster than you can say, “New Year, New Me!”

So why is it so difficult to keep your resolutions? Experts say that most people aren’t setting the right type of goal, or don’t have the right mindset. We’ve compiled a list of the top 5 reasons why resolution-makers lose their drive. 

You Don’t Actually Believe in Yourself 

The difference between "I guess it would be nice if...." and "I believe I can!" is confidence.

Many people end up dreaming up big goals that they aren’t ready for or don’t believe that they can achieve, starting off their self-growth journey with a negative mindset. This is an example of limiting beliefs, which will end up sabotaging your self-assurance and lead to you having lower chances of following through and achieving your dreams. 

Doubt is a nagging voice that resists personal growth with all it has. Get rid of your limiting beliefs by repeating affirmations and actually affect change by taking action to reach your goals. Believe in your own power - you can do it!

You’re Not Staying Accountable to Yourself

Even if you end up actually executing some of your daily habits to reach your goals, not keeping track of your progress can reduce your accountability. The more often this happens, the easier it is to start making excuses and slowly stop working on the goal.

Make sure to keep a tight track record of your experiences and accomplishments so that you’re able to clearly see your changes, and slowly build up your habits, which will motivate you to work harder. Moreover, improving your best performance on a regular basis offers positive feedback that will encourage you to keep going.

You can do this by setting your habits at the beginning of the month in a journal, keeping a record of your daily activities for growth, and revisiting your goals at the end of the month to see how much progress you’ve made. 

You’re Treating the Marathon like a Sprint

Change is hard, but what's harder may be believing that change isn't happening at all!

Getting rid of bad habits and trying new positive ones won't happen overnight, and being too impatient is one of the top reasons people drop their resolutions. It can definitely be frustrating to work hard every day and not see any improvement, but self-growth and improvement takes time to show. 

This is where keeping a tracker like recommended above can help you by showing you the changes you’ve made. If you’re feeling discouraged, go back to the beginning of your habit tracker in your Habit Journal, and check how far you’ve come since then.

Your Goal Isn’t Specific Enough 

Sorry to break it to you, but “I want to exercise more,” and “I want to spend less money,” aren’t good examples of clear resolutions. Why? These are too vague and have no real action plan - they’re just fluff pieces meant to confuse you.

By not specifying exactly what goal you want to achieve, you're setting yourself up for failure.

It's much easier to drop out when your goals are vague, so make sure to take accountability and set specific goals with clear timelines. 

You can set clear goals by considering the 5 W’s (what, when, where, who, and why), and execute them by clearly defining your “how.” Make sure to include a timeframe for your actions so you can check in along the way to see if you’re staying on track. 

You’ve Lost Your Motivation 

Once the initial excitement of the goal fades away, remaining motivated becomes a chore that few are able to accomplish.

Many people know their "what," - what they want to achieve, but not their "why" - the reason why they want to achieve it. The “why” is a deeper meaning - your true vision - that your goals will help you reach. 

Make sure you truly understand why you want to grow or change - doing so will make staying motivated easier. After that, re-examine your goals to see whether or not they are actually steps to get to where you want to be. As long as you accomplish these two things, whenever you lose motivation or are feeling lost, all you have to do is revisit your “why,” and you will be able to recenter yourself. 

WORK TOWARDS YOUR DREAMS!

When you know how you may stand in your way, you can empower yourself to move. 

Now that you know the common reasons why people fail to achieve their resolutions, hopefully you will be able to recognize signs of frustration and deal with them in an effective manner so you can reach your dreams!