It’s not totally your fault that you couldn’t keep your resolutions of last year, or that the ones you are about to make for 2015 are doomed to fail. Majority of those in the new-year-resolution business are in the bad market cycle. They get their hopes up with new oaths for the new year and a tad later they are chewing off their fingers in frustration for breaking their self-promises. The reason for this constant failure in keeping new year vows is not solely caused by the lack of will or tenacity to stand by our words, but in those words themselves and how we declare them. Here are five things killing your new year resolution.
First, January 1 is a wrong day to start a resolution
The first day of the new year seems like the perfect time to start afresh, but it is not. In fact it is the worst day to avow a fresh start according to personal finance writer Andrea Karim. In her article ‘Why Your Big New Year’s Resolutions Are Pointless,’ she describes the day after December 31 as the day “we wake up, hung over and or/still sleepy, and have to drag ourselves to the coffee machine or Bloody Mary IV drip. Freshly hydrated, we blink into the cold, uncaring eye of a January morning and try to convince ourselves that today is the day to stop smoking.” Simply put, the way we rush into January 1, with blitz, buzz and booze is against the slow deep meditation that the start of real resolutions demands.
So which is the best day for resolutions? The day you’re ready. For a significant lifestyle change, it’s either you are ready to do it right now, or you aren’t. January 1 doesn’t make starting or keeping a self-commitment any easier, that is down to your preparedness and smart choices.
Regardless of the new year, lofty targets are doomed to fail
Against popular belief, old things never pass away on December 31, and the only new thing about January 1 is the date. So, making lofty declarations on the new year doesn’t make them any more realisable. Instead of such unattainable mantras, like an end alcohol or a million dollar account target, make strategic, mindset-shifting objectives. Such objectives can be big boosters for your career, your love life, your fitness goal — whatever your heart desires. True lifestyle change is not commandeered in a whim, but achieved through painstaking processing and planning.
The New Year Momentum dies very Fast
Karim’s narrative best captures the ephemeral nature of new year resolutions.
“I go to the gym on a fairly** regular basis, but I know to avoid it during the month of January. Why? Because I know that the elliptical machines and free weights will be occupied from dusk to dawn with people who made the New Year’s Resolution to “get in shape.” But by February, the gym will be nearly empty again, and I can return and lift weights in relative peace.”
This is representative of how most new year vows quickly fizzle out. It is not because those commitments are not sincere, many are. Andrea adds, “people don’t say to themselves “I want to take a half-assed stab at being healthy.” People DO want to quit smoking. They DO want to be in shape. They DO want to have a baby, and get a better paying job, and save for retirement.”
The problem however is the fact that more often than not people commit to those goals because of the new year. Were they committed to their goals before the new year comes around they would have a better shot at achieving them. You have to be ready to start making lifestyle changes immediately, even if in modified form. Because while January 1st signifies the start of a new calendar year, actual change starts with your internal clock, and that clock is already ticking.
Your Perception of Resolutions also contribute to your failure to keep them
Most resolutions are about what you think you should do, not what you really want to be doing. New year pledges like Stop smoking, Start exercising, Eat healthily, More work/life balance, all sound nice. But they are often guilty of being people’s expectations of us. Forget about what you or other people think you ought to be doing and look at what you really want.
When making new year resolutions become an obligation, they are doomed to fail
Not only is choosing a single day to start a major life change illogical, taking such change as obligatory only ends up making you feel like a loser when you fail, and you often do. This is not to say that you shouldn’t approach your resolutions with all seriousness, but you start to lose the plot when you begin to take your new year vows as a must-do exercise. Rather, your resolutions should be born out of inspiration- it should be what you want to feel rather than what you want to accomplish.
Business journalist and PR coaching coach Rachel Hofstetter wrote in R29 that “By focusing on a feeling you want to achieve, rather than a singular accomplishment, you can visualize multiple potential outcomes that could lead to that feeling — and you may become more open to different ways to get there. For example, if you want to feel a sense of “financial abundance,” the outcome could be getting a raise or new job, switching to a lower-rent apartment, starting a side gig, or finding other ways to spend less money on a regular basis. All lead to the same feeling — financial abundance — but in different ways, which increases your chances of success.”
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