New Year’s Resolutions don’t always stick. In the beginning of the year we often hold lofty ambitions, but as January’s cold morphs into even colder February, often our willpower weakens. This is more than common. In fact, research shows that 80% of people ditch their New Year’s Resolutions by February.
There’s many reasons a New Year’s Resolution might fail, but the most common are:
- An all-or-nothing mentality
- Too big or ambitious of goals
- Lack of specificity
- An emphasis on achieving goals vs. building day-to-day habits
The truth is, we are often thinking too big. While you should never sell yourself short, the most successful goals are often those that can be broken down into smaller and more manageable daily tasks and habits
Rather than setting a huge and lofty goal in January for the entire year, think of each Monday as a mini-New Year’s or a new opportunity to reset and re-evaluate your goals and how well you are achieving them. This gives you the chance to create 52 opportunities to refresh your intentions through out the year, versus just one. This doesn’t mean you can’t have big goals, it just means that your big goals are broken into smaller, more manageable goals which you can set and reset each week.
Try starting your Monday morning by writing down your week’s goal – drink more water, make it to the gym three or more times, go for a walk every day, read 30 minutes a day, etc. Then, the following Sunday take a few minutes to reflect on the goal and your progress throughout the week. Don’t forget to celebrate yourself and your ability to transform and grow as you go.
If you’re reading this and already know that your New Year’s Resolution has fallen by the way-side, don’t despair. Each day is a new opportunity to start a new habit or make a small change and small changes will always have a big impact when done consistently and regularly.
