Why Your New Year’s Resolutions Fail

Written by: Rosaly Gomez

2023 is here. With the New Year’s arrival, many people have declared their resolutions. Oftentimes, these resolutions fail early on in the year. Why does this happen?

A New Year’s resolution is when a person makes a series of goals to achieve in the new year. These goals are meant to improve different aspects of their lives: health, relationships, intellect, etc. Common resolutions include wanting to eat healthier, exercising more, or being a kinder person.

According to LinkedIn, nearly 80% of people fail their New Year’s resolutions by February. Why? N26 claims that there are five reasons why resolutions fail: an all-or-nothing mentality, an overly ambitious mindset, a lack of specificity, an emphasis on achieving goals quickly, and a lack of relevance to our day-to-day realit

y. When employing an all-or-nothing, ambitious mentality, New Year’s resolutions are not achievable. There is no gradual transition from our daily habits to our new habits. Instead, we quickly remove our old habits and perform unrealistic new ones. By being overly ambitious, we try to rush through our resolutions. We do not focus on the steps we need to achieve our goals. Rather than living out the goals, we are invested only in the result. When the result is not achieved quickly, many abandon the goal completely.

So…how do we achieve our resolutions? N26 says to make your goals more specific, improve things in your current lives, make goals based upon your character, and celebrate the small things. By making our goals specific, we know exactly what we want to achieve. Make a plan! Lay out the process by which you will make your resolution a reality. Slowly improve things in your current life, and make gradual progress. When you notice you are making a change, reward yourself! Our resolutions, and the process of achieving them, should result in our happiness. If achieving your goals does not bring you happiness, then that goal is not for you. Essentially, take it slow and focus on making small, attainable, positive goals.

With dedication and a realistic attitude, resolutions can set a positive tone for the new year. On behalf of the CPHS newspaper, I would like to wish everyone a happy and healthy New Year. Good luck with your New Year’s resolutions!