If you’re anything like me you will have made and broken many New Year’s resolutions over the years. As a result I’ve given up setting them, and I’m not alone. According to a study carried out on behalf of Forbes Advisor in 2023 “less than one in five people (19%) set resolutions.” The study, which surveyed 2,000 British Adults, further goes on to reveal that the “majority of people (57%) … have never set a New Year’s resolution in their life.”
So why are people hesitant to set New Year’s resolutions and why, for so many, do they rarely work out?
In 2020 Oscarsson M, Carlbring P, Andersson G, Rozental A, published the results of a large scale experiment on New Year’s resolutions. They found that the secret to success was in the method applied to reaching the goal.
Setting realistic resolutions
Keep you goals small and incremental. Don’t just say I want to lose 6 stone. Instead set yourself milestones through the year with a detailed plan of how you are going to achieve your goals. Your plan should including how you are going to keep yourself motivated.
This approach applies whatever the goal. If you want to meet new friends start with identifying what has been holding you back. For instance, if you find small talk difficult you could start by looking at courses designed to develop your skills. If confidence is the issue make sure your first goal is to address this.
Don’t make your New Year’s resolution unachievable by expecting too much too soon.
Strategies for success
- Set realistic goals. For all the reasons I have already mentioned above realistic resolutions are crucial for success. Achievable, goals with realistic timescales will be more likely to lead to a successful outcome.
- Plan, review and revise. Create a plan for achieving each milestone. If you have problems work out why and adapt the plan. If your expectations were ambitious at the start you may be tempted to feel as if you have failed when you don’t achieve your goals. While this is more likely to be due to the milestones being too ambitions in the first place.
For instance if you have set yourself an exercise and eating plan which isn’t working, maybe the exercise plan doesn’t fit with your daily schedule of perhaps you’ve picked the wrong kind of exercises. Always consider why before deciding to abandon the goal.
Any goals you set yourself need to fit in with your life, not the other way around. You’re in charge and if you really want to achieve the goal its worth persevering.
- Stay motivated. If you want to stick to a goal you need to keep motivated. If you celebrate your achievements, however small, you may find you are able to self motivate. Celebrations might be just posting your achievements to followers on social media or buying a new piece of clothing, etc.
However, if you need some motivation from others you might want to buddy up with another person. This helps with weight loss and exercise goals. If one of you feels like giving up its up to the other to keep you both on track.
Family and friends are also good for providing encouragement and motivation. Make sure they are aware of your goals and supportive.
- Be kind to yourself. Don’t be too hard on yourself if you struggle to keep going with your plan. If you have difficulty sticking to your objectives, revisit them as I’ve mentioned above. It could be you are expecting too much from yourself or expecting results to be achieved quicker than is realistically possible. Consider your approach to achieving your objectives critically and don’t jump to blaming yourself or giving up. Whatever your goals, the method you choose to achieve them should suit you and your lifestyle.
What to avoid
Nothing worth doing is easy, or so I was told when I was younger.
- If you genuinely want to achieve your New Year’s resolution you have to consider it a challenge. Its unlikely that your goal will be as easy to achieve as your initial plan might have suggested. Whenever you encounter difficulties consider how you will overcome the new challenge.
- Don’t feel you need to set yourself a resolution just because it’s a New Year tradition. If you don’t genuinely want to achieve your resolution, you won’t. You need to have the motivation to set the resolution in the first place and a genuine desire to achieve your goals.
- Providing you are genuinely motivated to achieve your New Year’s resolution, never forget why. As the hard work of reaching your goals begins, recalling why you wanted to in the first place might serve as a motivation when things get tough.
And finally….
After the heady celebrations of the festive period draws to a close, your mind may well turn to considering the future. It’s a time when people typically consider a career change or lifestyle change such as weight loss or kicking an unhealthy habit such as smoking. Achieving your New Year’s resolutions takes detailed planning, realistic milestones and constant motivation. If this is your year for change, set your goals and make sure you have a plan to reach them.