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Create a way to self-monitor.
- It's common to struggle with keeping a New Year's resolution. But that often happens because of five main reasons.
- You have to be ready to change and to make a plan - and know what you'd be giving up to deliver on your resolution.
- You should create a system for monitoring the resolution, and acknowledge how your own weaknesses may challenge you.
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Anyone who has ever set a New Year's resolution knows how hard they are to keep. No matter how good your intentions are when you establish them, it's tough to get changes to stick.
As a psychotherapist, I see people fall into the same traps year after year. Whether they decide to lose weight, pay off debt, or get organized, they declare that they're finally going to do something different in the coming year. Yet, despite their efforts, most of them feel discouraged by their lack of willpower within the first few days of the new year. Most of them quickly abandon their goals.
Trouble keeping a New Year's resolution is a common phenomenon. A study conducted by researchers at the University of Scranton found that 23% of people quit their resolution after just one week. And only 19% of individuals are actually able to stick to their goals long term (two years, in the case of the study).
Here's why most New Year's resolutions just don't stick: