New Year resolutions are about turning over a new leaf and making improvements in our lives. Most resolutions involve becoming healthier in some way, and getting out of debt.
However, they are really hard to stick to, and about 80% of people fail to keep their resolutions for longer than six weeks.
Why is this? Psychologists say it’s due to several factors:
Overthinking how hard it’s going to be
We are more likely to stick to our new habits if we get immediate rewards from them, but this may be unrealistic. We’re more likely to succeed if we can win the inner battle between what we want to do and what we should do. If we can think how good it will be to eat a salad instead of a takeaway meal, or how invigorating it will be to go for a run rather than sitting on the couch, then we’re more likely to enjoy our new life.
Biting off more than we can chew
It’s not realistic to expect to go from doing nothing to achieving everything we want.
Doing what others want
It’s not a formula for success to try to make changes based on how we think other people want us to be, instead of what will make us happy.
Giving ourselves 'out' clauses
The “should” word is a major part of the problem, and may be the key to what holds us back. “Should” implies that something is a possibility rather than a reality. If I substitute “will” for “should”, then my intention becomes far more positive.
We can make resolutions at any time
Rather than waiting for New Year, how about making some healthy changes today? Let’s start small, and stay committed to making these things happen, and most importantly, do what we really feel we want to do to improve ourselves.
To stay focused, let’s avoid using “should” words. Let’s not worry about our healthy decisions, and instead go about putting them into action in an enjoyable way. Enjoyment is the key to success!
~ Clive
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