UNITED STATES—It seems year after year we all make plans for new traditions or things we are aiming to accomplish in the New Year. There happens to be one slight problem with New Year resolutions: they never stick. Why is that?
The biggest problem with New Year resolutions is we try to set too many. Think of one thing you’ve been struggling with, something that you’ve wanted to accomplish for weeks, months, years, decades and make that be your top thing to resolve. With any resolution, temptation is always present. Does this mean if you fall off the wagon you can’t get back on? No. It means you’re human, bounce back.
I always set the tradition of giving up caffeine for the New Year, and to be honest I do exceptionally well with it. How so? Usually the first week is the toughest, as that craving is almost impossible to escape. Things eventually get easier as each week progresses, before you know it I’ve gone four to five months without any tea, coffee or pop. Any resolution requires commitment, not just saying what you plan to do, but actively working to neutralize it.
If you need to keep a notebook to monitor your calorie intake (a bit extreme if you ask me), than do it. If you need to have someone as your motivator on a day to day basis, than do it. Perhaps a scheduled time you plan to work out each day without any interruption no matter what, than do it. Don’t make excuses for why you can’t do something unless it is an absolute emergency or unexpected circumstance completely out of your control and reach.
No resolution comes without the person having ups and downs along the way. That’s a good thing. It proves the level of fight that you have within you to accomplish something that others suspected you not being capable of doing.
If your goal in 2015 is to have multiple resolutions, consider implementing those resolutions in stages. Don’t try to tackle all of them at once. Why? It heightens your level of pressure; no one wants to deal with that. So long 2014, and welcome 2015!
