New Year’s resolutions seem like a good way to take stock of last year and set goals for the next. Unfortunately, in February about 80 percent of people have not been able to meet theirs. Life-changing commitments are hard to commit to, well. If most people can’t stay there for six weeks, something has to go wrong throughout the process.
It starts with the resolutions themselves. Both uneven promises, such as “losing weight” or “writing a book,” and excessive commitments, such as “losing 20 pounds in early March,” or “becoming a New York Times bestseller,” are bad. kind of new year resolutions. They’re too vague to be useful or too hard to do, so they don’t motivate you at all. In contrast, resolutions work best when they are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-limited.
And while it is important to make good resolutions, you need to follow them, which is difficult. One way, however, to give you a hand on January 1st is to stop waiting and start practicing your New Year’s resolutions right now. Here’s why.
Why people don’t adhere to New Year’s resolutions.
There is no single reason why most people do not adhere to their New Year’s resolutions. It is a combination of factors and life that only comes into play.
A big part of this is that a lot of people take on too, too fast. Deciding to eat nothing but salads, running five miles to work out every day and doing three gym sessions a week, in addition to writing the novel they always wanted, in January, the month right after the holidays, they are preparing to fail dramatically, run out and end the month Netflix watching bluntly and Twinkies eating us.
Another reason is that, at least in the beginning, following resolutions tends to stink. A 2016 study from the University of Chicago found that the biggest predictor that people would maintain on their long-term goals was whether they would receive an immediate reward. Delayed satisfaction was not a big reason. Everyone swears they’ll go to the gym for the health of their future, but if they don’t enjoy it right now or see quick results, they tend to give up. The first few weeks of doing something new are almost always the worst. You are inadequate, without practice and simply unable to cope. Combine that with the often miserable weather of January, the blues after the holidays and work stress, and almost no one is having a good time until at least St. Patrick’s Day.
Many people also approach New Year’s resolutions with an all-or-nothing attitude. They go directly from zero to 100 without warming up or consulting reality. If someone hasn’t run in years, resolving to run five days a week is a ridiculous goal – it’s virtually unattainable. And when (quite predictably) they fail to achieve it, instead of re-evaluating their goal, they consider it a failure. There’s always one next year, right?
It is a peculiarity of human nature that obsesses us so much with these hard starting lines. All exercise programs begin on Monday or the first of next month, or January 1st. It is understandable: the new year is a good time to reflect and set goals. But it also makes things difficult. When we mess up, we tend not to go back up and continue where we have failed; we reset to the next hard start line.
If you’ve found yourself falling into any of these bonds, you’re not alone. But we consider a solution.
Why should you start now?
No marathon runner ever climbs the starting line in a great race without doing the miles of training. He or she has been practicing for months, if not years. You should do the same with your New Year’s resolutions. It will make it much easier to adhere to it.
Decide that after you finish this article, you will begin to practice your New Year’s resolutions now. Use the remaining weeks of the year as a trial period. It doesn’t matter if you’re messing up or missing a day, you haven’t committed to anything yet – you literally can’t fail.
From now on, you will gain a much deeper understanding of what you are deciding to do. It’s best to find out in December that a five-mile race is a bit optimistic for your current level, so you can mark it again and start with two-mile races in January. And to meet your New Year’s resolution even more easily, with a few weeks of occasional warming currents, you won’t start from scratch on January 1st. You will have already overcome the worst of the initial period. You may even start seeing results.
Whatever your resolutions, there is a lot to say to use in the coming weeks before the holidays as an internship period. If you plan to eat healthily in January, use the time to find foods that you like that are easy to cook. If you want to write a diary or take a picture of yourself every day, start now and respecting your resolution will already be part of your daily routine. If you want to write the next great American or Hollywood novel hit, check out the plot and write the outline; in the new year, you will be ready.
And, if you miss a few days or miss the vacation period, what does it matter? You are just practicing. The big event won’t start until January 1st. And then you will be ready.