We have officially entered a brand-new year, 2023! And for many of us once again this might be a time for New Year Resolutions. Even though there is always a lot of hype surrounding New Year resolutions, many don’t feel the urge to set them as they are most likely to be broken. Why do you think people break New Year resolutions? Well, below are 3 most common reasons why New Year resolutions fail.
1) Not defining the goals properly and lack of proper planning
It is often easy to decide on a very vague resolution for New Year. For example, the resolution might be to lead a healthier life. Now if we haven’t defined what exactly are we planning to do to achieve this, it’s very easy to back out from it. In order to ensure that we don’t break new year resolutions, we must prepare a whole plan with details from our daily life to achieve the same. Quoting S.J. Scott, “Instead of trying to change your entire life in January, the simpler strategy is to adopt a 12-month plan where you’re making constant improvements”. While preparing the plan, remember, nothing is achieved overnight.
2) Not setting short term goals
Another mistake we make when taking new year resolutions is that we often decide on the final big goal but never prepare short term goals that are required to reach the final one. We must never forget that our habits and our situations can never change in a day or two. It takes a lot of time and perseverance, which we need to keep in mind while creating goals. For example, if you are trying to overcome an addiction, it won’t be an easy task to let go off in one week or even a month. Always keep in mind, only slow and steady progress everyday will ultimately help you achieve your final goal.
3) Lack of a support system
We also break our new year resolutions because often tend to forget that we need a strong support system to motivate us to achieve our resolutions. Try to build friendships with people who motivate you to do better. Maybe you plan to hit the gym regularly. Then try to have a gym partner who will motivate you to go even on those days when you feel lazy. If you are planning on clearing a university entrance exam, try to seek help from people who are experts in this field.
As the new year begins, we can review the year that went by. Find out what were the things that we achieved and the things that we didn’t. Then decide on what we can do better this year. An inspiring quote goes,
“Set realistic goals, keep re-evaluating, and be consistent”
Venus Williams
May this New Year help you achieve your goals! And if you feel you weren’t able to achieve it last year, it is never late to restart. Maybe you can change the “plan” this time and be consistent in achieving smaller tasks to reach the final goal. Learn from your previous mistakes and keep moving ahead until you achieve your New Year resolutions!!
