Have you ever thought about why we wait for a new year to make changes to our lives when we have 365 days in a year to make any life changes?
Why does a specified date, like January 1, empower us to make changes to our lives when we have a whole year to leave our old habits in the past and change our lives for the better. And is it healthy to constantly delay making changes to our lives?
Life can be uncertain at times, in fact it’s near impossible to really plan anything in life so why are we all obsessed with making new year’s resolutions?
Why do we make New Year’s resolutions?
New Year’s resolutions have a long history, hundreds of years ago our ancestors were making New year’s resolutions.
A New year can be a time to reflect on life and where we are and one thing, we do know is that there will always be a New Year coming along every 365 days, so that can be a good time to pick to achieve a goal.
A New Year is a new beginning for a lot of us, a time to change things going forward. A new start.
But it’s important to stay within the boundaries of what is achievable in life. This can be one of the problems with the New Year, new me attitude.
Why do New Year’s resolutions fail?
We all start off with amazing plans and resolutions and then find that there’s too much pressure on ourselves. Slowly as January continues, we can lose motivation. Our credit card statement arrives and that might set us back. It’s cold, really cold and this can also sap our motivation.
Failure to stick to our New Year’s resolutions can often occur when our goals aren’t realistic. We may think we can train for a marathon in two months but realistically, it takes a lot longer.
And when we perceive that we’ve failed, we can experience a cycle of self-doubt and low self-esteem.
New Year’s resolutions can be based on the self we want to be, rather than self we can realistically be.
When we feel like we’ve failed this feeling can then feed into critical feelings we have about ourselves, which can make us feel worse and we can feel like we’ve let ourselves down.
To avoid feeling like this, make small positive changes and try to make them consistently.
Making Goals that stick
Don’t try to change too much at once
Focus on setting realistic, measurable goals. Start small and then see how you get on. For example, try exercising twice a week and then if you find you achieve this, up it to three times a week.
Celebrate your wins
High five yourself for your wins and recognise your achievements. It takes a lot to stick to resolutions so don’t let that go unnoticed.
Make yourself accountable
Tell a friend what you’re trying to achieve. You’re more likely to stick to resolutions if you share those resolutions with someone.
Ask for help
If you find yourself struggling, then ask a friend. It might give you a bit of motivation when you’re struggling
What’s the alternative to New Year’s resolutions?
What if you decide there’s too much pressure to make New Year’s resolutions and what if you’re tired of setting yourself up to fail?
Why not try making small positive changes at any time in the year? That way, you are constantly on the loop of self-improvement, not just for a concentrated time in January, after all, we’re all in Beta.
Try to focus on a general timeline for achieving goals, without putting them off until the next New Year. If you really want to make a change then why not right away? Good luck