I believe that people tend to fail their New Year’s resolutions because they are too hard. Many people create resolutions that are very broad or take a long time to see progress.
For example, common resolutions such as losing weight or changing habits are achievable but very difficult and tedious. Many people fail their resolutions because they follow a large goal instead of multiple small steps.
According to a study by the University of Scranton, out of roughly 200 million Americans who create New Year’s Resolutions, approximately only 8 percent complete their resolutions.
It is more difficult to change one large aspect of your life than it is to make a multitude of smaller changes. Not every goal must be long term. It can be beneficial to make short term goals and eventually lean into making a large term goal.
Instead of waiting a whole year to make a big change, people should start making small changes as soon as possible. As a substitute to a large goal, people should take their goals one step at a time. “I had an issue where I would wait until the end of the year so I could make a resolution, instead of starting whenever,” said senior Aaron Gomez.
For example, instead of going to the gym after months of not going, you could start with simple exercises. It is more efficient to start easy and progress into more difficult goals rather than start with a difficult goal.
An easy way to set long term goals is to set up a SMART goal. A SMART goal is a goal that is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound. A goal that follows these criteria is easier to complete than a vague goal. For example, it is common for someone to say “My New Year’s resolution is to start going to the gym”. This is a bad goal because it is way too vague. A good goal would be something like “I plan to go to my nearest gym for at least a week straight by next month.”
Another important part of setting strong goals is to have a reliable support system. Having people in your life to hold you accountable is a great way to keep working at your goals. For example, if you plan to go to the gym, ask a friend to go with you so you can achieve your goal and have fun at the same time.
