7 Reasons Why You Don’t Stick to New Year’s Resolutions

Christmas is over and January has started and for most of us, that means the time for a new, fresh start, which means resolutions, new goals and an attempt at a better - if not necessarily easier - life. But have you ever wondered why you’ll get to mid-February (or sometimes mid-January...) and you’ll have completely given up the ghost. Goodbye ‘new me’, hello ‘same old, same old’. And all that will happen is we’ll get frustrated with ourselves and the fact that, once again, we can’t keep our easy new year's resolutions. Here’s a few reasons I think our goals go bye-bye.

Motivation, Such an Aggravation

Why should I bother beating around the bush? Motivation is often the most troublesome and toughest thing to come across when you’re trying to stick to a resolution. What happens usually goes something like this: you set your goals, you’re really motivated, then one day, you’ll have a terrible day and throw all of that out of the window. And for what? What you need to do is set your sights on something a little more attainable next time. Quitting eating snacks is too broad, and snacks are too good, so pick a specific food you want to stay clear of and do just that. Simple.

Time

Time can be one hell of an enemy. When your resolutions are diet related, you’re always going to fall through a crack because all of the quickest foods are the foods with the worst things in them. Microwave meals and whatnot are simple, easy and quick, and when you come home from work post-8pm and you need to cook for the kids too, an oven meal is usually the way we will go. Well don’t! Try and look away from that and keep you cool. If you don’t, you’ll only end up disappointed and frustrated.

Peer Pressure

Friends can be the worst, can’t they! If they want you to do something, and you don’t want to do it, they’ll only end up trying to convince you otherwise. And usually, it works. But wait, tell them to shove off! Don’t want that wine, don’t drink it. Not feeling like dessert, leave it alone. Tell your friends firmly but fairly “get lost!” when it comes to peer pressure. You’re most likely to get a reply that may surprise you, which will usually be along the lines of “why didn’t you just say!” - don’t succumb to peer pressure, and you’ll have a much better chance with your New Year’s goal.

Laziness

Laziness is one of the toughest reasons to admit, because it makes you look bad! Nobody likes to look like they’re at fault, but I’m afraid to say that sometimes it just works out that way. All the way through January you go to the gym, and all of a sudden, your day gets a little long and you decide that tonight is the night you’ll have off. After all, you’ve earned it, right? One day turns into to, and then once more you’re back in 2016 mode and that workout routine has disappeared, and you’re trying to work out exactly what went wrong. Try and stay motivated even during the hard days.

Watch Out for Resolution Overkill

We always have the best of intentions, and that’s where this reason comes from. You’ll often go heavy within the first few weeks of your new routine, only to discover that 3 weeks later you’re bored, unimpressed and hating the new year. It happens with just about any large goal; going to the gym, eating healthy, losing weight, reading, etc. If you bite off more than you can chew in the beginning, rather than start small and work your way up, you’re setting yourself up to fail. But you don’t need to. Set an attainable goal that you can customize and redefine months later, when you can openly say that your previous resolution was just too easy. This is the best way to go.

Setting the Bar Too High

Most of us will decide we want to do something game-changing, back-breaking and Earth-shattering with our resolution, only to discover that all of the above factors are just too strong against us. That’s fine though, because these things happen. If you’re going to set yourself a goal, make sure it’s realistic. Realism is the one thing that can overcome almost all forms of deterrent against your goals, and it’s something that most people do not acknowledge as a pretty important part of success. If you do, you’ll have a great chance of succeeding.

Having A Resolution for The Wrong Reason

This is almost a faux par to speak of, but a lot of people take up a New Year’s Resolution for completely the wrong reasons. People might do one because others are, or because of other social pressures, when really the last thing they want to do is jog 10k or get a promotion. Doing something even though you don’t truly want to isn’t a new thing. People always do it, but the effect of this is that you’re probably going to be doing your head in, mentally, if you make a resolution you know you won’t complete anyway. You’re setting off on a journey in a car you don’t know how to drive. If that’s the case, just sit back, realize your mistake and crack back on with life.

These are some of the reasons I feel people don’t go through with their New Year’s Resolutions, and I know they are because I’ve fallen foul of them myself. But never fret, acknowledging them as problems is a lot more productive than finding them creep into your newly found routine. Quitting a routine isn’t bad, because in the end you need to do what you need to do, but make sure you know that a realistic goal is better than one you’re not going to complete and peer pressure isn’t the ruler of you. There are plenty of other reasons you may not finish what you started when it comes to the year ahead, but if you do your best then there’s no reason to get down in the dumps.