It’s January again and the past 12 months have been a whirlwind for the nation, so it’s easy to feel you have to make 2022 the best year yet. The start of a new year is symbolic for a lot of us; it can signify a new chapter starting in your life and inspire you to set goals for the year ahead. In theory this sounds great, but more often than not we feel the pressure to set ambitious goals. But this may not always be the best idea. If the goals are unattainable we end up feeling bad about ourselves once we see that we cannot achieve them. Here are some of the most common reasons why New Year’s resolutions fail.
You haven’t chosen the right goals
One of the biggest reasons why you may fail so early on with a New Year’s resolution is because you set a goal for the sake of setting it and don’t know why. For example, weight loss is one of the most common New Year’s resolutions. Whilst you may have identified that you want to get fit, you also need to think about why your goal is important to you. Do you want to lose weight to feel better about yourself, for specific health purposes, or is this your goal because you think it should be? We could all do with shedding the weight of social expectations this year! Instead of just setting a goal, why not look within yourself when setting your resolutions. The more specific you can make your goal, the more likely you are to achieve it.
You’re putting too much pressure on yourself
When it comes to trying to achieve any goal, you need to let go of the ‘I want it all and I want it now’ mentality. There is a famous saying which goes: “Slow and steady wins the race”, and this could not be more true here. If you have a lot of things you would like to curb in 2022, the last thing you’ll be able to do is rework your entire life overnight. Small changes are more effective as they are less intimidating and easier to build upon.
You need to look elsewhere
Speaking of small changes – should you actually be making a New Year’s resolution? Or would you benefit more from identifying which small changes you could make to your life. A New Year’s resolution can be a huge undertaking (followed by potentially an even bigger sense of disappointment when you fail!). Instead, you could try taking a step back and re-evaluate what you holds back in life. For example, you might decide that you’re going to stay calmer and manage your impulsive emotions. Log all your small wins and you’ll soon feel much better about yourself. Check out our website for tips on how to do this.
www.resilience-training.org.uk