Five reasons why New Year's resolutions don’t work

We all hope that the New Year will bring new opportunities and be the year we make positive changes, become happier and achieve personal and professional success. However, when it comes to change, we can sometimes resist it, even when we believe it could improve our lives. We often don’t give our goals sufficient thought or place unrealistic expectations on ourselves.

So before you write a long list of New Year’s resolutions, consider the following reasons that could undermine your plans, and you will be better prepared to stick to your goals.

1. They are very similar to last year

If this is because they’re ongoing lifetime goals, then that’s great, and always something to strive for. But if you want to achieve a specific goal, the ideas and outcomes behind this goal need to be clear in your mind!

Simply setting the same New Year’s resolution because you didn’t achieve it last year may leave you feeling disheartened and hopeless, knowing deep down as you write it that you are just going through the motions and already expecting to fail again.

Starting the year already expecting to fail may make it harder to stay motivated.

2. Your resolutions are vague

For example – deciding “to learn more” is an initial idea, not a clear goal. Ask yourself: what do I want to learn, how will it benefit me, what should I start with, how will I monitor my progress, and at what point have I achieved what I wanted?

A vague resolution is easily forgotten, so try and be as clear and realistic as possible.

3. They are not in line with your values

When you honour your values, you’re being true to yourself. But setting goals that aren’t in line with what is deeply important to you (such as integrity, connection, caring, recognition, making a contribution) may make it harder to stay committed to them.

This can lead to a repeat of the negative emotions mentioned in point one – with additional self-judgement and criticism thrown in.

4. They do not support a balanced life

If you don’t check that all the areas of your life are in balance, you could easily have a great set of goals focused around one aspect of your life, your career for example.

You might achieve your desired promotion, for example, but find that other important areas of your life have received less attention, such as your health, personal relationships, having fun or your finances.

5. They are not your goals

Your family and friends may have certain expectations about you which, for whatever reason, you feel obliged to meet.

This is fine if it's something you truly want to do, if it inspires you, stretches you, makes you happy. But if those positives are missing and you feel you ‘should’ do it - look honestly and carefully at your reasons for making that choice.

Decide upon a reasonable number of resolutions that inspire you, consider the potential challenges above for each of your goals, and have a wonderful year!