New Year’s Resolutions: Why They’re Hard to Keep and How to Change That

With the New Year approaching, many of us spend time reflecting on the past year and what we hope to achieve in the upcoming one. 

Unfortunately, despite our best intentions, many of us give up on our resolutions within a month into the new year. So how do you end up as the exception to the rule?

Let’s discuss about why these resolutions can be so hard to follow and ways that you can set yourself up for success. 

Why do New Year’s Resolutions Fail? 

There can be many reasons why you’re not able to stick with your goals, but chances are you fell into one of these common pitfalls: 

1. Goal was too broad. The most common mistake I see people making is that they aren’t specific enough with their goals. Whether it’s saying that you want to lose weight or workout more, neither of these have a clear path for achieving them or even knowing when they’ve been achieved. 

So, instead of vague statements, make more specific ones like: I want to lose 10 pounds by my trip to Mexico in August or Starting in January, I want to go to spin class twice a week

By making goals specific and measurable, you’ll be able to make a plan for achieving them and know when you’ve been successful.

2. Setting too many goals. This is a biggie. While it’s understandable to want to do a full makeover on your current habits, you’re likely setting yourself up to be overwhelmed. And when you feel overwhelmed, you’re more likely to feel like giving up on all your goals. 

Instead, start by picking one (or at most two) specific goals that are also realistic. If you achieve that goal sooner than you thought, great! Then you can move onto tackling another. But first, focus on just making one or two achievable steps at a time.

3. Didn’t have an action plan in place. Even if you have a specific goal set, if you don’t have a plan to achieve it, then it’s hard to make steps towards achieving it. 

For example, if your goal is to go to spin class twice a week, some things you’ll want to plan out might include: 

• Which studio to go to 
• What time the class is and what time you need to leave home or work to get there on time
• Do you need to pack work clothes and shower there or are you going straight from work? 
• Food: for morning classes, do you have time to eat breakfast afterwards or do you need something easy to pack in your bag to eat once you get to work? Or for night classes, maybe planning to have a meal in the fridge that you can heat up once you get home. 

While it can seem overwhelming at first think about all these things, by having a plan in place it’ll make the actual day easier and get rid of potential excuses that could keep you from following through.

4. Not having a meaningful motivating factor. This one is huge. Even if you have a specific goal with an action plan, if you don’t have a powerful motivating factor, it can be really hard to maintain your new lifestyle changes. 

When making your resolutions, an important step is reflecting on why you want to make the goal in the first place and ask yourself how it’ll benefit your life. Once you’ve identified why you want to make the change, find ways to remind yourself of that. 

For example, if your goal is to lose 10 pounds before a beach vacation in the summer, set a picture of the beach as your phone background. Want to get in better shape so you can play with your kids or grandkids? Put a picture of them on your desk or next to your gym bag to give you some motivation to hit the gym 3 times a week. Keeping these reminders can help give you a little extra nudge when you’re starting to lose steam. 

Steps for Setting a Goal that Will Stick 

To help come up with a goal that you’re more likely to stick with, here’s an exercise you can try for goal setting. I like to use pen and paper for going through the steps, but you can also type your brainstorming on your laptop or smartphone.

Step 1: Brainstorm 

Start by writing down any goals you’ve had floating around in your head — even if they’re broad, you can narrow them down later. While losing weight and going to the gym more are common, other ideas could be getting more sleep, running a 10k, learning to cook, or drinking less alcohol. 

Example: lose 10 pounds, eat healthier, run 3 days a week, drink less wine, snack less between meals

Step 2: Prioritize 

Once you have your list, pick one goal that you feel most motivated to do or that’s most important. You may even find that certain goals need to be achieved before you could achieve others. Once you’ve picked your goal, don’t throw the list away! It’s a great resource to have when you’re ready to set a new goal later on. 

Step 3: Get specific 

If your goal is broad, now’s the time to get specific. As mentioned earlier, your goal should be actionable and measurable. 

Example: eating healthier becomes bringing lunch to work 4 days a week instead of going out to eat. 

Step 4: Make an action plan 

This step will probably take the most time, but it’s also the most important. In order to help follow through on your goal, you need a plan for how you’re going to achieve it. Again, get specific and try to predict any roadblocks that could come up and how to deal with them. 

For example, if your goal is to go for go for a run Monday, Wednesday, and Friday but it’s raining Wednesday, what’s your backup plan? Maybe you schedule a run for Saturday or have an online cardio workout that you can do at home instead.

This step might also include breaking your goal into even smaller steps. For example, if your goal is to lose 10 pounds by May, think about other changes you need to achieve it, such as portioning out meals, tracking your macros, or going to spin class three days a week. 

For our goal of bringing lunch to work 4 days a week, an action plan might include prepping meals on Sundays, buying portion-controlled containers, and spending a day finding and saving healthy lunch recipes to a dedicated Pinterest board. 

Step 5: Stay accountable 

While your motivating factor may be enough to keep you on track, other people do best when they have someone to be accountable to. 

Whether it’s your spouse, a gym buddy, or a community like Lose It!, telling others about your goals can help you stay on track and motivated. 

Step 6: Celebrate 

Don’t forget to celebrate and acknowledge successes, no matter how small. After all, positive reinforcement goes a long way in keeping us excited about the changes we’re making. And when we’re excited and feeling good, we’re more likely to stay motivated to stay on track.  

The Bottom Line

Make the upcoming year the one where you stick with your New Years Resolution. Spend some time this holiday season to come up with a realistic, meaningful goal and a plan for achieving it. 

They key is making sure that your goal is a SMART one: 

Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Realistic
Timely 

Looking for some ideas to get you started? Check out our post on 5 New Year’s Resolutions You’ll Actually Want to Stick To for some inspiration. Just remember to tweak these goals so that they’re specific, realistic, and meaningful for you. 

Are you planning on making a New Year’s Resolution? Share your goals and tips for sticking with them in the comments below!