Why New Year’s Resolutions Fail
New goals come with a new year and naturally around this time, many people come up with New Year’s resolutions. That is a great step forward. Unfortunately, it is estimated that around 80% of these resolutions don’t come to fruition. We will explore the two biggest reasons why in this article.
Too Many Goals, Not Enough Planning
Commonly, people make the mistake of coming up with too many goals and no solid plan for achieving them. Many of these goals are not realistic and do not take into consideration potential barriers the individuals might bump into. As covered before in a previous article, the S.M.A.R.T way is the best way to plan for change.
On top of that, it can become challenging to make progress when you have more than 2-3 goals, especially when they are completely unrelated to each other. Diet and exercise goals work great together and lead to amazing changes as long as they are in a S.M.A.R.T format. However, it is worth mentioning that it gets tricky when fitness goals are guided by a physical appearance desire. That is when the individual has to understand that physical changes do take serious dedication and hard-work, and might not be reached as quickly as desired. It could take months or 1-2 years to notice physical changes. Be prepared for that. Your fitness journey is a marathon, not a sprint.
Lack of Motivation and Accountability
Being and staying motivated is half the battle. It’s nearly impossible to achieve something that you don’t feel like doing or something that seems unattainable.
Before you write down and start planning towards any goals, do some pre-planning. Figure out what has stopped you in the past and come up with a strategy to overcome potential obstacles. You know what helps you the most. Maybe you enjoy rewards along the way, maybe you need to reorganize some things in your life first.
Another component of this issue is the lack of a strong support system. Pick a handful of people you can talk to about your goals and your progress. They can help keep you on the right track, especially if they’ve been successful in achieving goals themselves. Surround yourself with reliable people who take your journey seriously.
If you struggle structuring your goals into S.M.A.R.T goals or can not seem to be able to stay motivated, reach out to me. I can guide you using coaching techniques and help make your New Year’s resolutions a little easier to achieve.
