Why New Year’s Resolutions Do Not Work?

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

New Year is the time when many of us want to make a huge shift. We hurry to let go of past failures, negativity, bad habits, etc., as quickly as possible. We all want a fresh start. In spite of our good intentions, New Year’s Resolutions often fail. According to experts, only 8% of people have managed to make them happen. Psychologists think that a majority of people begin with tremendous enthusiasm, making a list too long. The list often includes several bad habits that have their roots deep in our past. According to them, it is unreal to change several long-term bad habits at the same time. If our New Year’s Resolutions have a similar concept, it is predestined to fail. It simply does not work that way. Therefore, psychologists suggest one bad habit at a time. They also recommend breaking one complex goal or a big project into its smaller composite parts. That will make it easier to achieve. Moreover, accomplishing certain results, no matter how small they are, will fuel our motivation and help us move further toward a bigger goal. On the other hand, another reason that New Year’s Resolutions do not work lies in the fact that many of us will beat ourselves up when becoming too relaxed with them. After their inner critic takes the lead, they lose self-esteem, inspiration, and motivation. They feel bad and decide to give up thoroughly, even though they made only one little mischief. Experts advise us not listen to the inner critic, take responsibility for skipping a few steps, but stay consistent. According to them, persistence is the key. To find out more about why New Year’s Resolutions do not work, the article “5 Reasons Why New Year’s Resolutions Fail…” gives us the following insights.

1. Your expectations were not realistic.

2. Your resolutions were not properly defined.

3. You didn’t have the right mindset.

4. Your time management skills are lacking.

5. You are living distracted.

There is one more thing that can help our New Year’s Resolutions work – it is our motivation. According to Eckhart Tolle, the spiritual teacher, explains that the resolutions should serve our evolutionary impulse. In other words, they need to be aligned with our soul and its purpose. If it is the case, then we will effortlessly achieve our goals. On the other hand, if our ego made a list, the New Year’s Resolutions will put a lot of stress and pressure. When they reach a peak, we will just give up.