Why New Year’s Resolutions Don’t Work

It’s not about waiting for a new year to maybe do things differently.

It’s about making a commitment and sticking to it.

I don’t dislike new years resolutions. I think they would be amazing if people took them seriously.

New Year’s resolutions don’t work because many people, including my past self, view them as a wish to hopefully accomplish one day.

In the past, I was guilty of setting a resolution — it typically revolved around fitness and losing weight — and I would be consistent for a week or two, but after that, I would fall off the wagon and never get back on.

I’ve realized in order to achieve a resolution, we need to be willing to give up the bad habits that got us into the undesired position we’re wanting to change.

But change is not easy.

Most of the time, people don’t want to push themselves past their comfort zone because change is uncomfortable.

Adopting a new habit is difficult. In the beginning, it takes a lot of willpower. To keep it, it requires discipline and effort.

Recently, I started going back to the gym. I used to be a hardcore gym rat when I was younger.

In those days, however, my reasons for going to the gym weren’t healthy.

I was desperate to change my body because I thought it was ugly, unattractive, and not good enough.

But now that I’ve done the work to heal my sick mentality, I’m trying to get back into the habit of exercising consistently because it is crucial to maintaining good health.

That’s my goal, not just for this year but for the rest of my life.

I want to be strong, mobile, and healthy. When I have children, I want to keep up with them, play with them, and not have to say I’m too tired or something hurts.

I want to prioritize my health not just for myself but for the future family I plan to have one day.

To make this permanent, I have to realize and accept I will need to give up some not-so-great habits I have at the moment.

Unfortunately, many resolutioners don’t approach the new year with this mentality and set themselves up to fail in the long term.

I also fell into this trap many times.

You start practicing a better habit; enough time passes, and you begin seeing results, then go back to the bad habit, thinking that you will keep the good results you got.

This is not how it works. To make the results permanent, the new good habit also needs to become permanent.

This ideology applies to anything in life you want to do.

Want to become a better writer? — you need to write consistently.

Want to get in better shape? — you need to work out consistently.

Want to be more organized? — you need to organize consistently.

There’s no way to make good results permanent with a bad habit. The bad habit must trade places with the good habit.

So if you want this year’s resolutions outcome to be different, approach them with the mindset that you’re willing to change.

You’re willing to give up the bad habits that got you where you are.

You’re willing to get uncomfortable because stepping out of your comfort zone will get you the results you want.

I hope this new year, we’re all able to accomplish the resolutions, goals, and dreams we have.

I definitely have some big goals I would like to fulfill.

I’m aware they will require massive change and growth on my part, but I’m okay with that.

As long as you’re okay with this, you will figure out a way to make your resolutions a reality.

I wish you all a wonderful and prosperous 2023 — Happy New Year!

Tell me, what have you learned is necessary to accomplish a goal?