Why 90% of resolutions fail (and why we’ll probably try again next year)
By Charis Torrance
Ah, January 1st – the day we all wake up feeling like brand new people, ready to take on the world and finally achieve those goals we’ve been putting off for years. We hit the gym, we start cooking healthy meals, and we vow to never again watch an entire season of our favourite show in one sitting (just kidding… not really).
But let’s face it, by January 15th, most of us are back to our old ways. The gym membership is collecting dust, the healthy meals have been replaced with pizza and Netflix, and we’re already planning our next binge-watching marathon.
So, why do 90% of our New Year’s resolutions fail? Well, for starters, we tend to set ourselves up for failure by making unrealistic goals. “I’m going to lose 20 pounds in one month!” or “I’m going to start waking up at 5am every day to meditate and do yoga!” Yeah, good luck with that.
Another reason our resolutions fail is because we don’t create a plan for achieving them. We just kind of… wing it. And when things get tough (which they inevitably do), we give up.
And then there’s the fact that we’re just not very good at delayed gratification. We want results now, not six months from now. So, when we don’t see immediate results, we get discouraged and give up.
But despite all this, we’ll probably try again next year. And the year after that. And the year after that. Because, let’s face it, making New Year’s resolutions is just plain fun. It’s like a national pastime or something.
So, go ahead and make those resolutions. Join the gym, start a new diet, vow to learn a new language. Just don’t be too hard on yourself when you inevitably fail. Because, hey, there’s always next year.