New Year’s Resolutions – Why are they so hard to keep?

Every year (or almost every year) I think about and write down my Resolutions for the coming year. Things like… “I’m going to lose 20 lbs. this coming year”, “I’m going to start walking 30 minutes 3 times a week” or “I’m going to start eating healthy”.

I always feel as though my resolutions are admirable yet for some reason, they are just so darn difficult to keep and soon fade away like the ink on the paper that I wrote them on. I have concluded that several things get in the way when it comes to keeping my resolutions, and I’m willing to bet they’re the same things that get in the way of yours.

1. I tend to procrastinate and put my resolutions off because other things come up that my mind wants to focus on.
2. I tend to change my mind about the resolution itself and decide to go in a different direction. It wasn’t REALLY the resolution that I wanted to pursue or… maybe the resolution was just too big for me to make in the first place.

Here are a couple of strategies I will put into place to establish some success in making my resolutions become a reality:

1. I will take procrastination out of the mix by setting up reminders on my calendar that pop up periodically to prompt me to keep moving forward.
2. I will also write ‘affirmations” and post them where I can see them – “I lost 5 lbs. way to go” or “Get moving girlfriend”.
3. If the Resolution I made seems just too big to achieve then I will map out smaller steps that will help me get closer to the accomplishment. My action steps could be getting comfortable with losing only 1-2 lbs. in the first 6 months or just standing on the treadmill for a few minutes or even walking to and from the mailbox each day (that’s some sort of exercise, right?)
4. If I do happen to change my mind about the resolution well, that is fine.

The key here is that if we make resolutions for the coming year. It is not necessary to beat ourselves up if we end up not keeping them. After all, we are human and have the right to change direction if we so desire. Life does get in the way while we are making plans and that’s OK.

By the way, there will be other opportunities all year round where we can make new resolutions. So, I ask you, what will your resolutions be for 2023 and what will your strategies be to keep them?