Top 6 Reasons New Year’s Resolutions Fail

It is another year, and January will come to a close. Why is it that so many people fail to keep their New Year’s Resolutions past a week or two? Here are six reasons that New Year’s Resolutions fail:

1. Resolutions are spontaneous.
When do most people set New Year’s Resolutions? At a New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day party. People are going around the room, and each person blurts out their resolution. This type of resolution is so spontaneous that it rarely can be taken seriously – unless it was a goal that was truly considered before the party.

2. Set to “top” someone else’s resolution
Setting a New Years goal just to “be better” than someone else’s resolution is not your own resolution. e.g. Someone says they want to lose 5 lbs, so you say you will lose 10 lbs to “top” that person. Competition with someone else can make achieving a resolution fun. However, it does not work when it was not your intention in the first place. If you have no “ownership” of the goal, you are not likely to achieve it.

3. No substance or value
Some people make frivolous resolutions – e.g. “I’ll stop drinking/smoking for a week.” Because there is no real intention here to keep the goal, it dissolves quickly. Resolutions need substance or value to the person if it is to really be accomplished.

4. No deadlines
When there is no deadline, and nothing to work toward, there is no reason to continue doing a goal past the first day or the first week. Deadlines help people achieve their goals because they have a timeline to strive for.

5. No rewards
Achieving goals are often accomplished because there is a reward attached to it. “If I lose 15 lbs, I can buy 4 brand new slacks.” “If I stop smoking, I will buy myself a new set of golf clubs or a new Corvette.” Rewards that are both specific and something the person truly desires, motivate the person to achieve the goal. (Rewards attached for no particular reason will not motivate you!)

6. Not enough time
It takes 18-21 days to make or break a habit, so if you quit after a few days or two weeks, you haven’t practiced the new goal long enough to make it a habit and sustain it. 18-21 days in the working world is 1 month (a work week is 5 days x 4 weeks = 20 days), so you might want to do something new for at least a month. Work on your habit for 30 days and it will be ingrained in you.

PS If you are buying any type of container this month, be sure to read Container Basics on the ScrapOnizer site which applies to buying containers for any storage: www.scraponizer.com Look under Sage Advice for the article.