7 mistakes to avoid while making New Year resolutions

7 mistakes to avoid while making New Year resolutions

To see your resolutions through, make note of the following mistakes you might be making while drawing them up

Meghana DikshitUpdated: Saturday, December 24, 2022, 07:14 PM IST
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Research says only 8% of people achieve their New Year resolutions; that means 92% fail. But why is this so? Even the best-intentioned resolutions can fail by the end of January. Most people complaint that they set a goal every year and they don’t succeed. Have you experienced this trap? If your answer is yes, then probably you are making one or more of these mistakes.

Setting unrealistic timelines: Often we overestimate what we can do in a year. For example: You want to lose 25 kg weight and you set that as a goal. It’s a realistic goal. A lot of people have done that earlier, but maybe you set a target to lose it in three months. Understand that no resolution is unreasonable but timelines can be unrealistic. When you set unrealistic timelines, your brain doesn’t take them seriously. It feels like a task and over a few days the old habits kick in and you feel demotivated. Setting smaller goals is the key and taking one day at a time is important.

Not having a plan: Most resolutions don’t see the finish line as there is no concrete plan to achieve them. Setting a goal means nothing if there is no plan of action to achieve them. For example: If you want to lose weight, then decide ahead of time. Are you going to hire a dietician, or enrol yourself in a class to learn about healthy eating? What sort of exercises will you be doing? How often in a week would that be? Will you be joining a gym or a runners’ club? Define your plan of action in a way that you can measure and review.

Not changing your environment: Your environment is more powerful than your willpower. If you fail to surround yourself with people who have similar goals, you will lose motivation quickly. Our brain absorbs constant information from our surroundings and this input shapes our thoughts and in turn, our reality. If you want to quit smoking and you are surrounded by people who are blowing rings on your face, it’s going to be tough, right? You want to eat healthily and your fridge is full of cakes, chips and chocolates, not helping, right?

Not factoring in the pitfalls: No matter the age, experience, gender, or skill set, all of us experience failure from time to time. In fact, we fail as we attempt something new. New Year resolutions can be challenging, difficult, and frustrating. But, then, they are meant to be challenging. Falling off the wagon is normal, prepare to get back up.

Doing it all alone: A lot of times I see people attempting to do it all alone. Remember nothing in life since we were a child, have we done anything alone. We needed help to even learn to walk. Once you mastered that skill though, it became super easy, right?

Most likely you are not able to do something consistently because you are not taking any support. Taking the required support from the experts in the area you have chosen is absolutely vital for you to see it through.

Not Rewarding yourself: Our brain seeks motivation from rewards. If you don’t reward yourself or celebrate your small victories, even if it means showing up, soon you will start feeling demotivated. Lack of motivation results in procrastination. So, it’s essential that you reward yourself for every small victory. It also helps you to measure your progress.

Getting Impatient: Impatience is like a weed in the garden. If you haven’t set clear and distinct goals, it’s normal to feel frustrated and rush into the process. It’s a surefire way to set yourself up for failure. We all want a quick fix and to get results overnight. The problem is that those results don’t last and that brings bigger frustration. For long-lasting results, you need to take your time and go through every step. Stopping at every step and taking an account of where you came from and where you are going, builds motivation and momentum.

So, which mistake are you going to avoid this year?

(Meghana Dikshit is an author, brain and performance expert)

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