Almost everyone I know starts their New Year off by coming up with a list of resolutions and goals that they want to accomplish and stick to for the rest of the year. These goals may include going to the gym consistently, eating healthier, quitting a bad habit or changing their attitude.
The sad reality is that a large percentage of people who make these resolutions quit sooner than you think. Some give up within the first month of the new year. Those who go to the gym more slowly taper off their workout streak. Those who eat healthy slowly lose patience with their diet.
Only around 9% of Americans on average complete their New Year’s resolutions by the end of the year. According to a study for Ohio State University by Richard Batts, an institutional design coordinator for Fisher Leadership Initiative at Ohio State University, “Research goes on to show that 23% of people quit their resolutions by the end of the first week, and 43% quit by the end of January.”
Author Cynthia Vinney explains why on VeryWell Mind, a medically reviewed news page, that many of us have unrealistic expectations of ourselves. We don’t ask ourselves why we make these resolutions, and we aren’t actually ready to change.
Other reasons you or others may not be sticking to these resolutions could be because of a lack of motivation and lack of accountability or maybe even having an all-or-nothing mindset which can lead to feeling discouraged. Another major problem is the lack of planning.
I believe that to stick to big goals that we create for ourselves we have to change the way that we think about them first. Every year for the past couple of years I have set a goal for myself to start going to the gym more, but I never really stuck to that goal until I asked myself why I really wanted to — that’s when I saw long-term progress.
When I asked myself why, I figured out the reason why I wanted to go to the gym more was not only because UO has an amazing gym which is there for my use, but because I felt like I ate poorly, and that I was tired of struggling with self image problems. I told myself I wasn’t going to pressure myself because of these reasons but allow them to motivate me.
I started with positive self-talk, being flexible with my needs and being generous to myself instead of being discouraged if I slack on my goal. Tracking my progress helped a lot and so did celebrating small wins.
Kaihana Soeury, a University of Oregon senior, had to change their mindset when coming up with their resolution, as well.
“I think that there is an importance to changing your mindset because with a new year comes a new age individually,” Soeury said. “You have to be willing to make changes because everyone gets older and the older you get the less likely you are to change your thought process. I believe that intentionally changing your mindset now helps.”
Thomas Nguyen, a UO junior, explained how he sticks to his goals when he starts the new year.
“I remember why I am doing this, and I need to treat myself well by doing things to improve myself,” Nguyen said.
There are plenty of other tips and tricks that can help you stick to your goal, as well.
Be very specific with your goals, remind yourself why you want to stick with them and be honest with yourself. Don’t take on too much at one time. If you need to, have friends help encourage you to stick to your goal or come up with goals you can work on together. Give yourself time to allow your goals to become a daily habit.
A vast majority of other ways to keep up with New Year’s resolutions have to do with changing your mindset. That can be scary and hard for a lot of people, but it just requires a lot of patience and support. I have experienced success in my goals when I changed the way I thought about them. It was the same for several other individuals who I talked to when we discussed the New Year. Small steps are the best way to accomplish something big.
