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Why New Year’s Resolutions Don’t Work

New Year's Resolution|goals|ideasHappy New Year everyone! It’s that time again….We are seeing friends and family posting all kinds of New Year’s Resolutions for 2016. But how many people actually stick with their goals? Not many according to most polls here and here. In fact, it appears that 1 in 3 goal setters have all but given up by the end of January.

Here are a few reasons why I believe New Year’s Resolutions don’t work and a couple strategies to tilt the odds in your favor.

Why #resolutions don’t work & how to make sure yours do

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  1. Baby Steps: More often than not, people set lofty unattainable resolutions without any sort of plan on how to achieve them. Instead of “I am going to go to the gym everyday” or “I am going to become a vegetarian and be healthier”, why not reframe those into smaller easier attainable goals. For example: I am going to go to the Wednesday spin class each week or I am going to go Meatless 2 days a week. Setting smaller more achievable goals and seeing yourself crush them encourages you to keep going.

  2. It’s about time: Often people under estimate the amount of time all of their new goals might require of them. Sitting down and figuring out how much time you really have to designate to reaching your goals is key to succeeding. If you already feel like you are swamped with work and family responsibilities, perhaps now is not time to commit to marathon training for example. Plan out the time you will need to work on your goal each week and write it in your planner as you would any other appointment.

  3. Find Your Why: Why do you want to xxx? Are you working towards something that you really want to achieve or are you going along with something a friend or spouse wants you to do? Is your goal something that sparks you to pop out of bed in the morning because you can’t wait to work on it? Can you visualize how your life might be if you completed your goal? Find your motivation.

  4. We don’t like to fail: Sometimes we have to fail a few times before achieving success. Failure does not feel good and can lead us toward abandoning our goals. Are you prepared to fail to achieve? You might not get the position you are applying for the first time you try or might not complete your race at your goal time. Having the strength to get back up and try again is key.

  5. Reward Me!- We perform better when we are rewarded. Having small rewards on the way to your bigger goal will allow you to stay motivated. So Whether it’s numbers on a scale, looser fitting clothing or lower cholesterol numbers, having definable ways to measure your success will help you stay motivated.

Tell me-What’s your plan to achieve your resolutions?

Linking up with Nicole, Courtney, Mar & Cynthia join in!

Fit n Fashionable FridayDC_linkup


About Deborah Brooks

Hi I'm Deborah! I spend my days successfully raising a husband & 2 teens in the VA/DC area. I am a lover of all things running & fitness. As a life long vegetarian, I've always been passionate about healthy living & exercise. Looking for partners in crime, I started my own chapter of Moms Run This Town (MRTT) which has grown to over 700 members. I've met so many amazing women who inspire me daily to keep moving forward. You can usually find me running with my crew and training for the next crazy adventure they talked me into. I love to keep up to date on new running & fitness trends. I definitely choose my running gear based on color and love to express my fashion sense while exercising.

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Comments

  4. Nicole @ Fitful Focus says

    Agreed! I usually start doing the research and ground work toward achieving my goals in early December and always break my yearly goals down into baby steps. You need the mini goals to help accomplish the big one. Happy New Year, my friend!

  5. Chrissy @ Snacking in Sneakers says

    I’m totally with you on the baby steps. Rather than setting a broad overarching goal, I like to break everything down and set several small goals that I know are achievable. I need to sit down this weekend and plan out some more of my 2016 resolutions, but a big one for me is meal planning – so I sat down and planned out all of January today!

  7. Lisa @ Running Out Of Wine says

    You are so right! I think these tips are really important when setting goals. I felt like I had to spend alot of time thinking about what goals were meaningful to me and also realistic. I think its good to have lofty goals as long as we have a plan to get there. Happy New Year!

  8. Jess @hellotofit says

    YES! Rather than setting a goal for the entire year, setting small, short-term goals has been shown to be a bigger success 🙂 great tips, Deborah! Happy new year!

  9. bri says

    Awesome advice, as always 🙂 Sharing with my training clients on my personal training Facebook page!

  11. Montana @ Pretty Lil Mudder says

    Haha I see we had the same idea about New Year’s Resolutions! I agree with all your reasons- my post was similar. Almost everyone I know has resolutions and I don’t anticipate many of my friends actually sticking with them. Hopefully they will prove me wrong, but we’ll see!

  12. Jenn says

    I don’t really make resolutions, simply because they are so hard to attain. However, I have some goals as far as my fitness, and I will just keep training and chipping away at them until I get there. I will hire a coach again to help out and remain consistent with my cross training and we shall see what happens.

    Happy new year!

  13. Ilka says

    I totally agree Deborah. Mini steps are the way to go – it doesn’t happen any other way anyway, you have to accept that great changes take time. As soon as expect a fast fix, you automatically set yourself up for failure. Great New Years post and Happy New Year to you and your family!

  15. Kathryn @ Dancing to Running says

    I always find it difficult to focus on bigger goals without breaking them down into more manageable pieces. That way, its easier to stay focused on reaching the milestones without feeling overwhelmed.

  16. Sharon says

    Happy new year Deborah! These are great tips! Definitely with you on the baby steps! I’ve found that breaking it down leads to more positive results!

  18. jill conyers says

    I’ve had annual goals forever. I’ve gone from referring to them as resolutions to goals to intentions and back to goals and maybe back to intentions. This year it’s goals but with all of the changes once I stopped calling them resolutions I never went back. It’s all such a mental game.

    Of course I would love to have you share your post with the new Friday link up, Fitness Health & Happiness 🙂

    Happy new year Deborah!

  19. Janice - The Fitness Cheerleader says

    Great tips! I’ve been very focused on SMART goals over the past few years, but this year I’ve decided to work on being a better friend and person and have decided to have a mantra to guide me through the year: LIFT – I hope to LIFT everyone up around me. What’s your goals/word for this year?

  20. Sharita says

    I totally agree that these lofty resolutions we often set are just a path to failure! I like to break my goals down into much smaller things that I can accomplish in a few weeks or months. Then I feel like a winner once I check that off the list and that motivates me to reach for even more!

    Happy New Year and here’s to an awesome 2016!

  21. Mary Long says

    I set an intention this year to be more courageous and step outside my comfort zone. I also want to have more adventures. Our first stop will be Boston in February for my daughter’s birthday. I am hoping it will be a mild, snowless weekend. Why can’t she be interning someplace warm? haha

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