Make Simple Resolutions
I can’t even begin to tell you how many resolutions I have made and failed to keep. Any healthy eating, weight loss or workout resolutions came tumbling down at the first sign of my birthday celebration. Since mine is the 13th of January, I figured out quickly that unless I planned around roadblocks, I wouldn’t pass the 2-week mark!
Most of us make resolutions we really want to achieve around self-improvement, education, weight, money or relationships. The trouble is that we make our resolutions really big. There are some really good reasons we are not successful in keeping these lofty goals.
Here’s why most resolutions don’t work:
- Many resolutions require a behavioral or physical change, and we try to make that change much too quickly. Instead of saying to ourselves “I will start walking a few days a week” and then gradually increasing the pace, we say “I will start running 2 miles a day 6 days a week” and then we burn out quickly.
- We may not be that committed to the resolution to begin with, and it quickly becomes a goal we really don’t care enough about to make the effort toward achieving.
- Some people actually make resolutions just to make them, without any intention of following through on them. They are made on a whim just because the New Year is rolling in, and it makes them feel good to have one.
- Resolutions don’t always have a plan for success because people don’t think of them as goals. There are many steps to setting and planning goals. Often we don’t think that resolutions deserve the same kind of planning.
Resolutions that can work are more like promises to ourselves. Make a resolution that is more like an agreement than a goal. For instance, you might resolve to wash the dishes before going to bed at night, so that you can wake up to a clean kitchen sink. Or, maybe you want to start going to the gym directly from work instead of going home first. So, if you want to make a resolution you can keep, make it a simple promise to yourself.
