It’s that time of the year when many will be thinking about their New Year’s resolutions. Millions of people make resolutions every year to improve their lives and have better years.
We enter January feeling confident and ready to tackle the year ahead, whether it’s cutting out alcohol, quitting chocolate, or vowing to travel the world.
How many people keep these resolutions?
A study found that only 9 percent of resolution-makers actually keep their resolutions. This means that only one in 10 people actually stick to their resolutions. The Strava study found that most people don’t make it past the first month.
The study revealed that January 19, which is less than three weeks into the new year, was the most popular day to give up on resolutions. The brand called it “Quitter’s Day”.
This begs the question: Why?
This is a complex and interesting question that can be serious or just too ambitious. A resolution to run a marathon in a very short time frame may seem too ambitious, but failing to quit alcohol for a week could indicate something more serious.
It is a good idea to look at the reasons your resolution failed and to come to terms with them. Failure to quit alcohol can lead to questions about your relationship to the substance, and could be the moment you realize that you are suffering from addiction.
It could also be the catalyst to go to Alcohol Rehab and get clean. This would be a positive outcome of setting a resolution.
A resolution might have been to exercise. Perhaps this goal is too vague. Research shows that setting challenging and specific goals can increase the likelihood of someone achieving them. It doesn’t matter what your end goal is for “getting fit”. If you set yourself a goal to run 10 km in May and have an endpoint in mind, then you will have a baseline of fitness that you must reach in order to be successful.
To help you reach your larger goals, you can set smaller goals as part of the journey. Having a support system can also help ensure that resolutions remain in place.
It’s all about commitment and creating a system that will allow you to stay committed. Over 90% of us are failing to keep our resolutions.
