Why Don’t We Stick To Our New Year’s Resolutions?
What are good intentions really? Why do we create New Year’s resolutions when we start something new? How long does our motivation to stick to it last?
It seems that the beginning of a new phase in particular motivates us to think about what we want to change. What resolutions have you come up with for this coming year?
It is not uncommon for people to pursue popular goals. These often involve weight loss or smoking cessation. However, there are also other goals, as you will know yourself! These can be even more personal and have a deeper meaning for you.
Visualize your New Year’s resolutions
Visualizing them is something that can make a big contribution to achieving your New Year’s resolutions. For example, write it on a poster or in your notebook that you use every day. Make your goal visible in any case!
Make sure you see your resolution regularly throughout the year and turn it into concrete actions. In other words: in addition to your goal, you will also have to write down the necessary steps to achieve it.
Converting wishes into concrete actions lends importance and consistency to our good intentions. That, in turn, helps the goal transform from seeds planted to the fruits we want to reap.
In this sense, our exposure to our goals will help us not forget them. Plus, it will keep them from sinking to the bottom of our priority list!
The University of Scranton in Pennsylvania conducted a study that found 92% of the population failed to achieve their New Year’s resolutions. We have just discussed some of the reasons why this happens.
In any case, the bottom line is that general plans without concrete actions and a lack of clear visualization hinder us in the pursuit of our goals.
Motivation: the motivation behind our New Year’s resolutions
Where is one of the secrets to getting what you want? In motivation — and sticking to it! Do you really want what you have imagined? Do you have the means to achieve it? Does achieving this depend on you? Do you see the possibilities to achieve this for you?
An important part of being able to answer these questions is motivation. You will feel that you are being rewarded for all the effort you put into overcoming the obstacles you will encounter along the way.
That will apply when you’re chasing what you want, when you can imagine yourself achieving your goals, when each day is planned around small goals, and when you can see daily progress, no matter how small.
Intrinsic motivation gives you the necessary energy to get closer to your goals. Making a list of investing your time and your hopes only to lose them will only cause frustration. It can also damage your self-confidence.
Other important elements to prevent your New Year’s resolutions from becoming mere decorations on your living room wall or disappearing in a drawer is internal coherence, a reality adapted to your possibilities and available resources, and a deeper, overarching purpose that brings everything together.
Now let’s talk about personal growth.
What good intentions do I have this year?
A tip: leave out everything you’ve already tried and failed to achieve. Perhaps you failed to achieve those New Year’s resolutions because you lacked strength or desire, or because you didn’t make your goals concrete and tangible enough.
Maybe it didn’t work out because your New Year’s resolutions were set too globally and you forgot that they have to share common ground with reality to make them achievable.
We suggest you find something that will make you smile every day, rather than something that will “make you happier.” We suggest that you do not set the goal that you lose x number of kilos, but that you can only snack on weekends and that you are physically active at 3 fixed times per week.
Do something this year that you’ve never done before. It doesn’t have to be something big. You don’t have to jump out of a plane, climb a big mountain or visit at least one country on every continent.
It’s more than enough to try something you’ve never tried before, taste food you don’t know, talk to new people, explore new paths, or watch movies you never wanted to give a chance before.
The magic is that they invite us to become better people and face challenges. So, what are your New Year’s resolutions?
