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Did you make a new year’s resolution? How has that been working for you?
I just realized that it’s going to be March 1st and I am not sure I have made much progress on my new year’s resolutions.
I am a big fan of goal setting but this tends to be one type of goal that frequently goes unmet. Here are 3 thoughts on why new year’s resolutions don’t work and 3 ways you can salvage your new year’s goal setting in the months to come.
Why New Year’s Resolutions Don’t Work
- We Decide Last Minute
- We Lack Motivation
- We Don’t Have Support
Many people, myself included, often realize that the end of the year is approaching and we have not decided on a new year’s resolution. There is social pressure to have one so we tend to review the heavy hitting categories like, money, health, career, love, etc. and choose a resolution that is socially acceptable and easy to insert into conversation at the party or office.
This last minute decision results in an inevitable lack of motivation. We didn’t really choose the resolution for ourselves, we choose it based on what we thought people would like to hear and what we thought people might reasonably agree with. Its hard to stick with something without really knowing why we want to do it and being convinced of the needed change. Many times we view resolutions as “nice to haves” rather than “must do’s”.
Having made the resolution at the last minute and in some ways not really knowing why, we often don’t have people around us rallying for us to make a change. Long lasting change happens in community. We need people to support us as we try to change our habits, goals, relationships, etc. You may not be seeing results in your new year’s resolution because you are trying to make it alone.
How to Salvage Your New Year’s Resolution
- Create a Short Term Win
- Recruit a Friend
- Work Hard. Take Stock. Press On.
Traditional new year’s resolutions have a time-line of 12 months. This is a really difficult goal setting scenario. Instead, decide where you want to be in 12 months and write that down. Now, write down where you need to be 3 months in order to make your 12 month goal a reality. Short terms goals are more easily measured and far more motivating. Its much harder to procrastinate on a 3 month goal than a 12 month goal.
Recruit a friend to join you in achieving your goal. You need support and accountability. If you can convince someone to join you in the adventure, you have also (sometimes unknowingly) been able to articulate your own motivation for reaching this goal. The additional support and accountability will help you persevere when you would much rather curl up on the couch.
Work Hard. Take stock. Press on. This might be your mantra this year as you tackle short term goals. You need to commit to reevaluating your progress and redirecting yourself as needed. You can learn a lot about yourself from the process of pursing a goal.
Are you converting on your new year’s resolution? What is your advice to the rest of us who are behind on our goals? Leave a comment and share your new year’s resolution tips and tricks.
