How quickly do people normally give up their new year’s resolutions? According to fisher.osu.edu, 23% of people quit within the first week, and 43% quit within the first month. In fact, only 9% of people make it through the whole year!
New Year’s resolutions can be exciting, “New Year, New Me,” right? It allows for the opportunity to try new things and become a better person. The most common New Year’s resolutions are getting on a workout plan, a new diet, becoming more wealthy, improving mental health, and learning a new hobby. Some of these goals may call for an extreme schedule change, and maybe even a whole new lifestyle.
To go from never working out and spending hours just laying in bed, to having to get up early or put time away in the day to get a workout in. To have to maintain that for a whole year can seem straining and seem even harder to achieve your New Year’s resolution. So why do people normally quit right away? According to verywellmind.com, people have the mindset that their goal is too hard, they have reached too far for something. People often don’t think about the why when they are following their new years resolutions; it may even feel arbitrary when things gets hard. Before someone makes a New Year’s resolution, they’d really need to think about why they are doing it, and how they are going to achieve it.
Let’s say your goal is to workout this year. Instead of just saying “I’m going to workout everyday,” start by making a schedule for just 3 days a week and add some walks in there. Be sure to really think of your why. Are you just working out because you think you should? Is it for other people’s approval? Maybe you have to do your own research to realize that working out is actually a necessity because it improves your overall health, prevents disease, and allows for you to enjoy more activities in your life.
Some tips for setting these goals is to just start small; make it attainable so the goal doesn’t seem daunting. Another tip is to reward yourself; if your goal is to start a new hobby such as reading, maybe take yourself to a pretty location to read. Or for a fitness goal, buy new workout clothes. Really try to stick to your goal for 21 days, so if your goal is to start a new diet, try to take 21 days to stick to it- it takes 21 days to form a new habit according to experts.
Many people also make a vision board, which is not only fun but also allows one to physically see their goals. A vision board is a collection of pictures of your goal, which many people make on Pinterest or on their bedroom wall. You can add pictures of yourself after you feel you have gotten into a normal rhythm of your New Year’s resolution. But what is really amazing about this is you can look at what your goals look like everyday, and soon you can be adding photos of yourself experiencing your New Years resolution!
Whether you have a resolution this year or not, it’s never too late to make a change in your life, no matter what time of year it is. Just remember to stick to your goal, take things step by step, reward yourself, and remember the why.
