Did you fall into the New Year’s resolution trap? Did you cave to peer pressure and take on some unrealistic and ridiculous promise? Sure, the idea behind resolutions may be noble, but these are also recipes for disaster. You may have the very best of intentions, but you have to ask yourself if these promises are realistic. Are you going to be doing the same thing in October that you were doing in January?
If you take a long hard look at these silly resolutions, you will find that they are nothing but empty promises. They really are not the smartest approach to improve yourself. Why do you even need the New Year to kick start your life? Isn’t there something you can do in the here and now? Even if this represents a fresh start to you, is it essential to make promises you can’t keep?
We make New Year’s resolutions because we’re conditioned to believe that it’s what we need to do. Though it would of course be far more effective to create a healthy lifestyle or work towards happiness each and every day, we feel it necessary to focus on a clean start with the turn of the calendar. Don’t fall into this trap! You are going to end up down and out when those resolutions don’t stick — and there’s a reason for it and a need to reassess things.
You Set Yourself Up For Failure From The Start
According to a recent news article [1], New Year’s resolutions are never going to get you to where you want to be. As a matter of fact, 92% of resolutions made in the New Year end in failure. Think about that for a moment because it’s staggering. This means that almost all of us who start out the New Year with purpose and resolve to change our ways will end up failing.
This article is very telling because it shows that it takes 40 days to break a habit. That means that you have about a month to make or break these resolutions. This isn’t really that long when you think about it, and yet you need to stay focused. If you have bad days then you have to persevere and that’s too tough for many of us. Most of us just want to quit when it gets hard or when we fear that we won’t get the results that we want. Not the best approach but this is reality!
So what are the common resolutions we end up breaking sometime in February? Though we may start off very focused and dedicated, it usually just takes one bad day before things are off-kilter. You are not alone in this as the article demonstrates, and perhaps that offers comfort.
The bottom line is that you have to be willing to make changes and stick to them every day if you want to improve yourself. You don’t need a New Year or a special occasion to commit to helpful changes. Let’s take a look at the most common resolutions that we make and which end up being a complete disaster by the time that spring hits.
You’re Going to Work Out More or Eat Less
You’ve been down this road before. You are going to lose weight, feel great, and change your life. You are going to hit the gym five days a week. You’re going to eat right and skip out on the fast food for good. You are done being fat, lazy, or unhealthy and the New Year is the perfect way to kick things off. Sound familiar?
For most of us though, we’re going to hit the gym hard at first. We may very well stick to our plan for a couple of weeks, or even a couple of months. We love what we’re seeing and so this time will be different. We will not stray from this new healthy lifestyle. Then what happens? We have a bad day and turn to a pint of ice cream. We miss a gym day due to late meetings. We hit a plateau on the scale and therefore want to just give up.
Creating a healthy lifestyle is an admirable thing and something we all should do. The thing is that this takes effort and focus every single day. You don’t need the New Year to jump start your commitment to change. You can make changes every single day to help you to get to where you want to be. You can feel better about who you are and what you look like. It takes consistency and persistence, even when you have that bad day.
You’re Going To Be More Positive and Productive
You are done being lazy. You’re sick of feeling in a rut. You want major changes, both personally and professionally. You are ready to do something about it and the New Year is the perfect time to do it. Right? You already know this is not going to end well. You know that you may start out with aspirations of taking the world by storm. Just one bad day or one frustration though, and we get back into our comfort zone.
If you are a negative person it’s going to take a daily commitment to change things up. You have to put a concerted effort into changing yourself and your life. If you want to be more productive then you are going to have to get more organized and focused. You have to find tactics to help you with both, even if it’s mantras you repeat to yourself over and over. You have to find that one thing which will help you rather than just saying that this is the year you will be more productive and positive. Words are just words after all!
You’re Going to Spend More Time with Loved Ones and Yourself
You value your loved ones and this is the year to show them just how much. Forget about the past because from here on out you are going to make them your new priority. You are going to say no to work responsibilities or other social events to spend more time with them. You are going to travel less, work less, and just be present.
Again this starts out really well and you are almost proud of yourself. Then suddenly a work trip or social engagement comes up. You can’t help it, right? When you are home you are on your laptop or phone more than you are conversing with your loved ones. This isn’t exactly working out the way that you intended. How did this happen? You really want to be more present and show them how much they mean to you, and yet here you are back at the beginning again.
Live and Plan In The Moment and Present Day
Forget about what you thought you knew when it comes to improving your life. There are so many better approaches. You can learn to have an inner dialogue with yourself, as many experts will tell you this gets you much further in life. [2] Here’s the biggest problem — you are setting goals for yourself that are never going to be attainable. From the very start you are setting yourself up for a disaster because these are huge goals that are never going to get you to the finish line the right way.
You have to do what makes you happy every single day. You have to stop doing what you think that you should do and go with what you want to focus on. You may set goals, but don’t tie them into the New Year. Winter is a dreary time and if you fail by March you are more likely to just give up entirely. You are not a failure, but this plan for changing things up is not going to work for you.
Forget about specific, lofty, and unachievable goals that are going to leave you feeling frustrated and mad at yourself. Start with simple changes you can make today and then build upon those instead. You will be much happier, you will be much more successful, and you will end up having the best New Year of your life!
Summary: What Should You Do Now?
It’s time to abandon the idea of the classic and ridiculous New Year’s resolutions. You are never going to get to where you want to be and these promises are a horrible idea. You are much better off figuring out what makes you happy, how to change things up each day, and then stay focused and positive. This is how to change your life for the better and to be much happier each and every day.
Action Steps: Tips for Making Healthy Changes
- Examine where you went wrong with previous New Year’s resolutions
- Vow to never make these promises to yourself ever again
- Think of smaller but attainable changes you can make each and every day
- Stay focused and positive, and reward yourself when you see the changes that you want happening
Conclusion
Though you may have used New Year’s resolutions in the past, you can see now just how ridiculous they are. You don’t have to make empty promises to yourself just because the calendar is changing. Make things happen in the here and now, and build upon your progress. Yes New Year’s resolutions are dumb, and now you know how to change your life in the best way possible.
References
- [1] New Year’s Resolutions Are Dumb Don’t Make One Odyssey https://www.theodysseyonline.com/reasons-not-to-make-new-years-resolutions
- [2] What You Should Do Instead of Making New Years Resolutions The Startup https://medium.com/swlh/4-things-to-do-instead-of-making-new-years-resolutions-in-2018-94da0495a16e
