You Can Trash Your New Year’s Resolutions… If You Haven’t Already
Why you need to rethink your New Year’s Resolutions
First full week of 2020 is behind us.
How you feeling?
Are you one of the faithful keepers of New Year’s Resolutions?
Or are you part of the tribe whose resolutions never made it past January 5, 2020?
No judgement.
I don’t believe in New Year’s Resolutions. I’ve never had success with them. They’re just not for me.
Plus, most of you have about a week before abandoning them; according to a recently published article. A Study of 800 Million Activities Predicts Most New Year’s Resolutions Will Be Abandoned on January 19: How to Create New Habits That Actually Stick
Growing up, I thought making New Year’s Resolutions was something that everyone had to do.
Like paying taxes, or going to school. You just do it.
But I could never understand the concept behind New Year’s Resolutions.
You wait for the beginning of the year; you make a mental list of all your failures of the last year; and then follow it with a list of things to improve.
Sounds like a solid plan, right?
Wrong.
There’s no plan. It’s just a list.
A list of past failures.
Oh sure, you’ve become a member at the gym, and you got a trainer. Good for you.
You’ve signed up for an intermediate-level yoga class, because you done yoga before.
You’re subscribed to full meal delivery boxes. Awesome. They deliver healthy ingredients, and you put it together.
Maybe you’ve started the Keto diet with your co-workers, or you become a Flexitarian.
Yes, that’s a thing.
I’ve always wondered…
With plans that include external support, why do so many people abandon their New Year’s Resolutions?
Why do people fail miserably at maintaining their resolutions beyond the first month?
It’s predicted that up to 80% of adults who make New Year’s Resolutions give them up before January is over. 80% of New Year’s resolutions fail by February — here’s how to keep yours
Don’t get me wrong.
If you’re one of those rare characters, who keep up with your resolutions beyond the first 2 months of the year, you’re a Superhero in my book.
But for the rest of us…
New Year’s Resolutions are not the answer.
They’re the opposite of beneficial. They’re detrimental.
My issue with New Year’s Resolutions is, most people generate a list of things they’d like to do differently, but stop there.
- There’s no game plan
- No blueprints
- There are no short-term goals created to achieve long-term success
Just a list of things that need changing, improving, or eliminating.
The weird part is most people rush in and recycle resolutions of years past.
Little thought is put into the progress necessary to reach the desired outcomes.
Just a list of past failures.
The worst part is…
Feeling like a failure.
Those demoralizing feelings of failure.
The ones that make everything around you go dark.
Feelings that linger way after everyone you know has also failed at keeping their resolutions.
There’s no need to put yourself through that. There other ways to reach your goals.
Again, no judgement.
All this failing, is due in part, to poor planning.
I remember sitting in class, with a high school teacher whose New Year’s Resolutions seem to include providing students with better school supplies. First day back from winter break, he tells us to write down our New Year’s Resolutions on the special paper, he enthusiastically handed out. He claimed, New Year’s Resolutions would be a road map to success, for the remaining school year, and for life.
Looking down at the pretty paper with pen in hand, I couldn’t understand how making a list of my resolutions would help me achieve them.
It felt superficial, like hanging out with someone because they had the latest Jordans.
Yes, that was at thing.
When the bell rang, I handed the teacher a mostly blank page.
Since then, I personally find it futile to make New Year’s Resolutions.
I think they hold you back, instead of propelling you forward.
A lot of people create New Year’s Resolutions, for the sake of saying they have them.
You’re telling the world:
“I’ve reviewed my last year, and I see several areas that need serious improvement.’’ (In a stern accent of your choice).
It’s like watching the Super Bowl, and skipping the commercials.
Remember when I said poor planning was part of the reason people fail?
The other part is Mindset.
Well, the lack of it.
If you want to change something, improve something, or eliminate something, you need to go much deeper than making a list.
The mind is a powerful tool, and how you set your mind up, will ultimately determine your outcome. If you decide to change something in your life, whether it be exercising, eating healthier, educating yourself, whatever it is, your mind will be the driving force towards the desired results. If your mind isn’t involved, the actions you take, can’t become a habit.
And we can all agree, for New Year’s Resolutions to be successful, they need to become a habit.
You may not have heard this before, but I think it’s worth sharing:
The motivation you need to continue towards your goals, can be found in your Mindset.
Not from cursing yourself to get a 4:00 AM workout, or hating yourself because you’re craving sugar.
Nope. It’s all about your how you set up your mind.
We’ve all heard, or seen those people who have lost half their body weight, or former a couch potato, out there, rock climbing, and seeing the world.
These people may seem like super mutants, but they’re not.
The difference between you, and those people who accomplish what they set out to do is…
Mindset.
When you want to give up, when you’re tired, when you’re feeling you can’t go on, if your mind is set up to overcome those feelings of defeat, and challenges, you will prevail. The way you perceive your current situation, combined with your desired results, will depend mostly on if you believe you can do it.
The couch potato turned rocker climber/world travel, saw herself doing those things way before she tackled her first climbing wall.
But visualizing is not enough.
You can train your mind to prepare you for those times when doing the “thing” becomes harder and harder.
When the “I-can’t-do-this-anymore-I-feel-I’m-going-to-die” beast rears its ugly head.
You can set your mind up with a simple mantra to get over the fear, and perceived exhaustion.
This is the one I use.
Whether it be in the gym, getting physical, or while working at my computer creating.
I live by the 40% rule.
“When your mind is telling you you’re done, you’re really only 40% done.” David Goggins .inc.com/peter-economy/use-40-percent-rule-to-achieve-impossible.html
When I want to give up, when I think need to quit…
I know I’ve only used 40% of me.
“That’s not even half! Why bother even showing up?”, I ask myself.
I know when I’m faced with an obstacle, when I want to quit, I’ve only used 40% of my physical and mental capability.
I repeat it to myself as the cardio machine of the day, is trying to kill me.
There’s a whole lot of books, articles, posts, and probably even a few TED Talks, on Mindset.
I’m not here to recommend any of them.
If you’re on the hunt to learn more on the power of the Mindset, enjoy the trip.
I’m here to let you know, it’s OK that your New Year’s Resolutions didn’t last. Or that the effort you put in got you nowhere.
You may not have known, that for any goal to succeed, your mind needs a spot at the conference table.
But now you do.
Go, set your mind up, visualize, and get a mantra you can use when you feel like giving in.
