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Making a New Year’s Resolution is admirable: it’s an indication that you strive for self-improvement. It’s noble to want to be more charitable, to become physically fit, to quit smoking, or to make one of thousands of different changes that can make you happier and stronger.
Yet while a majority of people make these resolutions, only about 14% of women and 22% of men keep their resolutions. Another study says that number is even lower.
Why do so many people fail? Yes, part of it is the simple fact that many of these goals (especially losing weight) are very difficult to accomplish, things that only those with seriously long-lasting willpower ever accomplish. However, there is another reason why people fail: New Year’s Resolutions put you in the wrong mindset.
A New Year’s Resolution tends to begin on the New Year – you set a specific time and date to begin. That’s the first problem: you’ve already procrastinated by setting a future date. If you really intend to change something and it’s that important to you, you shouldn’t wait even an extra week to begin changing yourself for the better. New Year’s Resolutions promote procrastination from the start, which almost always sets you up for failure.
The other problem with New Year’s Resolutions: they treat lifestyle changes as specific events with start times and end times. For anyone who has lost weight and kept it off, they know that there is never an end time to a lifestyle change: it’s a permanent change you keep up forever. I dropped 40 pounds (204 to 164) years ago, but once I hit 164, I didn’t just revert to my old habits. If I had, I’d have gained the weight right back.
I’m not saying don’t make a New Year’s Resolution or resolve to change yourself. What I am saying is that you must treat any change you make for the better as a lifestyle change, something that will become a permanent part of your life. If you can’t commit to permanent change, then you have a problem.
And stop procrastinating; just start now.
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Comments
12.30.09
I hear ya Ben -
I like to use the turn of a new year to reaffirm my vision and goals and checkpoint my own accountability against them. It is important to do essentially the same thing every morning when I look in the mirror, but I like to use the quiet period between Christmas and New Year's for some real introspection and motivating.
Cheers & Thanks for the post,
Rob
12.30.09
Ben,
First off, congrats on the weight loss, I did the same thing. Dropped from 215 to 165 and it was a lifestyle change.
The one issue I have is that you are leaving out short term goals that can also be New Year's Resolutions. It is a very good thing if someone decides that they want to read 3 books, save $2000, or pass their series 7. These don't need to be lifestyle changes, and if they need New Year's to be their motivation then good for them.
Again congrats on the weight loss, and have a great 2010.
DH
12.30.09
I always think New Year's Resolutions are silly and haven't made any for years for just these reasons. Instead, I make resolutions throughout the year, quietly, and with little fanfare. And when I fall off whichever wagon it was, I quietly get back up (if I'm ready. No shame in it taking a little time) and start again. I agree that the procrastination built into a New Year's resolution doesn't bold well for maintenance. Neither does the perfectionism inherent in the idea that it'll all change after a certain arbitrary day. I make some pretty good changes that last, but for me, they're all incremental and a little backsliding is allowed. As long as I pick myself up again and head off in the right direction, I get there in the end.
Happy New Year, and thanks for posting!
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