580-Why We Fail at Our Resolutions and How to Fix It

Most people fail at their New Year’s resolutions…a sad truth. In this episode,we discuss why the failure is so high and how you can become one of the success stories!

 

Transcript:

 

Welcome to Everyday Happiness where we create lasting happiness, in about 2 minutes a day,  through my signature method of Intentional Margins® (creating harmony between your to-dos and your priorities), happiness science, and musings about life. 

 

I'm your host Katie Jefcoat, and yesterday we discussed the history of New Year’s resolutions and the sad fact that only 9 to 12% of people actually keep their New Year’s resolutions…even when 52% of people thought that they would be successful.

 

The reason why many people fail to stick with their New Year’s resolutions is that they had too many goals, the goals they had were too lofty, they forgot about their goals, or they didn’t have the skillset or tools needed to actually do them. Obviously, when we fail in our goals, that doesn’t feel good. It can leave us feeling worse than when we set them and can even heighten the bad habits we were trying to expunge.

 

So, how should we set our New Year’s resolutions?

 

First, be super specific with WHAT you want. Let’s look at the common goal of weight loss. When designing your goal, you shouldn’t use the blanket statement “I want to lose weight.” Instead, be specific and say something like, “I will lose 26 pounds by the end of the year, half a pound each week.”

 

Second, be clear on HOW you plan to achieve your goal realistically and how you will monitor your progress. For example, “I will lose weight by implementing exercise for 30 minutes, 3 times a week, and maybe a specific eating practice, and I will monitor my progress with an exercise journal.”

 

Third, be honest with yourself about WHY you want to pursue this goal. People often set lofty goals but don’t have that light-your-hair-on-fire motivation. You need a powerful why behind your resolution, like “I want to play more with my daughter, ” “I don’t want to get on cholesterol medication,” or “I want to feel healthier.”

 

Remember, your New Year’s goal doesn’t have to be the standard lose weight or make more money. Instead, it can be an internal emotional or mental goal, such as being more grateful, providing forgiveness, or pursuing social bonds that may have gotten left behind. I encourage you to look at what you need most rather than what you want or what society tells you you should want.

 

To gain better insight into my own reflections, I created the Reflections and Intentions fillable printable resource because I needed it. I needed a clean and thoughtful place with prompts and a scorecard to pat myself on my back and use those Intentional Margins to think about how I want to be intentional in walking through this next year. If you want your free copy, hit the link in my show notes. 

 

Get your Reflections & Intentions Printable here: https://www.katiejefcoat.com/reflections-intentions

 

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