Why is it that most people set new year’s resolutions every January, but few stick with them?

While I do believe New Years is a great opportunity to reflect on the past (the good, the bad, & the ugly) and begin to think about ways to make our lives better so that we can be our best and strongest selves, making resolutions because of some calendar obligation is kind of ridiculous. We pick some arbitrary date and then hope all of our problems will disappear.  

From what I found, when creating new years resolutions, many people don’t address the underlying issue to their unhappiness or root of their problem. Therefore, they are setting themselves up for failure. For example, people say they want to lose weight. They’ll start exercising, but they won’t change their diet. As a result, they most likely will not reach their goals; leaving them feeling frustrated and wanting to give up. However, what they fail to realize is that you can’t out exercise a bad diet. So unless you’re willing to look at all aspects of your life and how you live, you most likely will be setting yourself up for failure. It’s also like saying you want to run a marathon; you sign up for the race, you run a few miles, but you never truly train. What happens? Maybe you get injured and can’t finish the race. Unless you’re willing to make changes in all aspects of your life (ie. what you eat, how much you sleep, drink, workout, etc…) and put in the work you won’t achieve what you had hoped to.

There is a simple solution! If you really want to see significant changes in your life you have to be honest with yourself and also be willing to work hard. You need to step outside your comfort zone, and not only in January, but throughout the year. Take control over your thoughts and actions. Look at how you talk to yourself and how you treat your body. Are you doing things that are nourishing to your body and soul? Get out of your own way. Fear is the number 1 limiting factor in whether or not you succeed. Start forcing yourself to do things that may make you uncomfortable. Outside of your comfort zone, is where the magic happens and where we grow. There is a whole world out there we can explore, but you have to be willing to leave some of your thoughts, beliefs, judgments, fears or whatever it is that’s holding you back. We don’t always like to do things that make ourselves feel uncomfortable.  We want the easy fix or easy pill and aren’t always willing to put in the work. In order to be successful, this needs to change.

To start, analyze your life. Rather than thinking about symptoms of your dissatisfaction, try to find things that make you feel good and happy. Then if there are things you want to change, start to create a plan of action. Goals are your new resolutions. What is it you’re hoping to accomplish and what will it take to get there? Write them down, talk about, and start doing the steps needed to accomplish your goals. Sharing your plans and putting them out into the universe will help them to manifest in your life and come true.

I believe that anything is possible. With a little patience, hard work, and dedication, you have the ability to create positive change in your life, meet your goals/resolutions, and make your dreams come true.