You know that feeling when you have a New Years Resolution? You’re going to lose 10 pounds, or become more active, or get a better job. But then it’s not even Valentine’s Day and you’ve already broken your resolution. Why is this? Well, I’m here to tell you that it isn’t just because you lack willpower or motivation. There are many reasons why we fail at our resolutions every year—but don’t worry! We’ll go over some of these below so that hopefully you can avoid them in the future:
Unrealistic Goals
You got excited about the New Year and you said to yourself this is my year! I’m going to get my act together! I’m going to:
- Run 5 miles a day
- Eat Super Clean
- Lose 50lbs
- any other impossible tasks that you may have set for yourself
This is not the best approach if you want to actually see results. You need to set realistic goals and have a realistic mindset when it comes to achieving them. Which leads us into the next reason you may have failed to reach your goal.
Taking too big of steps
It’s easy to get overwhelmed when trying to change your life, especially if you’re trying to do it all at once. A lot of people start off by setting huge goals that are too far out of reach for them. For example:
- “I want to lose 100 pounds this year.”
- “I’m going to go from not exercising at all, ever, until I’m in shape enough for marathons!”
When you set goals like these, most people will become hyper-restrictive and go 180% the first day or week. This obviously isn’t sustainable so most of the time they will end up going back to their old habits and just quit.
Lack of Focus
You tried to do too many things at once and got overwhelmed so you did none of the things.
Focus on one thing at a time. One actionable item at a time. We only have so much time in the day and we only have so much capacity to make changes. Small changes over time add up to big changes down the road.
Lack of Accountability
If you’re serious about reaching your New Year’s resolution goals, it’s important to make sure that you’re accountable.
This can be as simple as finding a friend or family member or Coach 😉 who will check in with you regularly and ask how things are going. Or, if that feels too much like work for someone else, do it yourself by writing down what steps were taken toward achieving the goal that day and posting them somewhere visible (like on social media).
This can be a lot to ask of a friend or family member especially if it isn’t their main focus or goal. Hiring a Coach for accountability means you are asking an expert for advice and guidance. Coaches can help point you in the right direction so you don’t have to stress out about the next move.
Not tracking progress
The first step to achieving your goals is tracking progress. You need to know how far along you are in reaching your goal so that you can stay motivated and continue moving forward. You can track progress in a variety of ways, but no matter what method you choose (or use), it’s important that you have a plan for how often and how thoroughly you will measure results.
Tracking helps improve results because it gives us an idea of where our efforts are paying off–and where they aren’t getting us anywhere at all! It also helps us see what areas need improvement so that we can adjust our approach accordingly.
Don’t give up!
If you’ve tried to reach your goals and failed, don’t give up! There are plenty of reasons why people fail to reach their resolutions, but it’s important to remember that failure is often a natural part of the process. Instead of focusing on what went wrong and beating yourself up over it, start thinking about how you can do better next time.
When I help people set out on their journey, I am determined not only to give them simple tasks to complete, but also to stay on track by tracking progress and keeping on task.
I’ve found two key things helpful when trying again next year: 1) Having something positive in mind before going into each day; 2) Reminding myself that even small steps count towards achieving big outcomes over time.
If you’re feeling discouraged, don’t give up! It’s not easy to achieve your goals, but if you keep trying and stay positive, you will succeed. If you feel like your resolution isn’t working out or that it’s not achievable anymore, consider making a new one. Make sure it’s realistic though so that you can actually accomplish something this year!
