New Year, Same Results?

As the hustle and frenzy of the holiday season wears off, many of us take some time to think about the things we weren’t able to accomplish in the year that has so quickly passed us by. Maybe you want to become a vegan, save more money, or write a book. You’re determined to make the upcoming year matter, and you think of everything you want to do. Then you write them down and wait until January 1^st to go after your goals.

The feeling of being recharged and refreshed is so apparent in the air. It’s like you can almost see and taste it. When the clock strikes midnight you hit the ground running with your new goals imprinted on your brain. But after a few weeks, the resolutions you spent so much time and effort obsessing over are quickly forgotten. It doesn’t take long for you to revert back to your old ways and the comfort of your current life. New year, same results – sound familiar?

Why Your New Year’s Resolutions Fail

According to studies, only 9.2% of people that set New Year’s Resolutions actually achieves them. And when it comes to setting goals in general, only 30% of people meet them. So, why do so many of fail? I think there are a number of reasons. For one, your resolutions were an epic fail because you weren’t truly committed. A lot of times we like the idea of something, saying it out loud sounds good. We see someone else doing something and we think it’s cool – so we add it to our list like we’re shopping for groceries. Or, we fine tune our focus in on the end result and neglect truly embracing the process, the journey of change. So, when it comes to doing the work, our interest vanishes. I hate to break it to you.. but you’re the reason why your resolutions have failed.

Trust me when I say that I get it. I too have put so much effort into starting fresh and meeting my goals in the new year. Then after awhile, feelings of discouragement settle in. In the past, I grew upset because I wasn’t making the progress I thought I should, or I just kept putting off actually starting anything.

It Doesn’t Have to be a New Year to Make a Change

I think many of us want better, but don’t necessarily know how to do better. More importantly, what’s so effective about putting off doing something, or chasing something until the start of the new year? Nothing in life is guaranteed; you’re not promised tomorrow. If you really want to change something in your life, what’s stopping you from starting today?

So, if you want to really make things different this year, here are a few tips to help you out!

1. Stop waiting – Stop waiting for a certain day, a specific occurrence, or for a certain amount of money to start. Go after the life you want NOW! 
2. Be realistic – Set goals that you can actually achieve. For example, aiming to lose 100 pounds in 30 days sounds good, but it can be really hard and dangerous to meet that. Also, break your goals down into smaller sub-goals that will help you achieve your larger goals. This way you can achieve small victories and still make meaningful progress. 
3. Set goals that align with your purpose – Many times, we set goals for the sake of setting them. But the truth is, everything ain’t for everybody. Don’t set yourself up for failure because you’re doing things that are not truly aligned with your purpose.
4. Know your WHY – Knowing your why, your reason, the purpose behind your actions is key! When you know this, it’ll make putting in the work (especially on the days you don’t want to) that much easier. Your why gives you something to look forward to.

In Conclusion

You have to do the work – there’s no way around it. Don’t let the million and one excuses that pop into your head stop you from going after the life your truly want and deserve. Most of the time, you give up because you’re scared of failing. But you can’t let that hinder you. Keep trying, even if you fail, TRY AGAIN!