Why Most New Years Resolutions Fail and How to Make Them Stick

Did you know that over 90% of the resolutions people make about doing things differently in the New Year fail? Perhaps you’ve experienced this yourself and now don’t even consider making New Year resolutions.

It’s tempting to think of the start of the New Year as a chance to turn a fresh page and write a new script for how you’ll live your life in the coming year.

Here’s the problem with that. No matter when you attempt to make changes in your life, they’re not going to stick just because the calendar has moved from December 31 to January 1.

In this article I’ll help you to understand why most people fail to follow through on their resolutions and what you can do if you want yours to stick.

Why New Year Resolutions Fail:

1. You’re not really motivated to make any changes but feel you ought to at least make a few resolutions since everyone else seems to be doing it.
2. You’ve set yourself too high a goal and find that it’s just too hard to stick with it and give up
3. You’ve set too many goals and find yourself doing a little of each one, but none of them consistently. When everything is important you experience feelings of overwhelm and it’s hard to focus and follow through on anything. Consistency is the key to making change.
4. You haven’t carved off time in your calendar to make these changes and are trying to squeeze them in to an already overcrowded schedule
5. You feel it’s selfish to make your goals more of a priority and consistently put others needs ahead of your own, even though you sometimes feel resentful. This is especially true if you're a people pleaser and others have come to rely upon you to always say yes when asked for help and support.
6. You have so many things you want to change that it’s hard to pick which one/s to focus on and you get stuck in overwhelm.
7. You don’t believe you have the willpower to follow through, so the minute you fail at one of the commitments you’ve made to yourself, you tell yourself this is just too difficult and you give up
8. You’ve shared your New Year resolution with your friends and family and yet they aren’t very encouraging and may even seem to look for ways to keep you from achieving your goals
9. You’re just too tired to follow through and changing things requires more effort and mental capacity than you feel you have
10. You have a little voice in your head telling you “Why bother, you know you’re never going to stick with this, you may as well give up now”

How to Make Your New Year Resolutions Stick:

1. Understand that there’s nothing magical about the start of the New Year. Making changes in your life can happen at any point in the year, provided you are truly motivated to make that change.
2. If you have a big change that you want to make in your life, chunk it up into smaller pieces and start making small changes that gradually build towards that bigger goal. You’re much more likely to succeed and as you make progress your motivation will increase.
3. Take time to pause and evaluate what you want to make priorities at this point in your life. Ideally, you’ll have no more than 3 top priorities, and you can then make a commitment to start making small changes to support each of those priorities. If you want to get crystal clear on your top 3 priorities, consider investing in my What's Important To Me NOW online course and community. It’s modelled on a coaching session I would conduct before working with a new coaching client and it can help you figure out exactly what you want to focus your energy and attention on at this point in your life.
4. Making change requires us to make time for the new activities, which may mean stopping or delegating some of the tasks currently on our To Do List. If this seems impossible, consider going to bed a little earlier and waking up earlier to make time for your new commitments to yourself, or if you’re a night owl, doing them in the evening before bedtime.
5. The truth is that others will benefit if you make time for your own priorities. You’ll feel happier and more fulfilled and others will benefit from your positive energy.
6. Think about the big picture. If you could wave a magic wand and be transported into the future, one year from now, what would you like your life to look like? Now pick 3 things to focus on that could contribute to making that vision a reality.
7. Remind yourself of things you’ve accomplished in the past. Reflect on what you did to make these things happen. Make a plan for achieving the goals you’ve set yourself and have a strategy for how to get back on track if something knocks you off course. Reflect on why your were knocked off course, treat challenges as a learning experience, make adjustments and move forward. Tell yourself “This is important to me and I can do this”.
8. Be conscious of who you share your new goals with. Not everyone likes change and if your change impacts others they may try to throw you off course to mention the status quo. Choose people who are really supportive or find a supportive community to be part of who can cheer you along. The What's Important to me NOW course comes with the option to participate in a supportive online community of others making positive change in their lives, just like you. You can even ask them to check in with you to hold you accountable for following through on your commitments.
9. Choose the best time of day to make these changes. If you’re a morning person, make the changes earlier in the day, if you’re a night owl changing your bedtime routine may work best for you. Set yourself up for success by choosing the best time of day to incorporate new habits. If you've set goals that will lead to a greater sense of fulfillment, you're likely to find that making these changes can actually be energizing. 
10. Notice when that little voice is trying to throw you off and remind yourself of the times in the past when you have succeeded and respond with your own positive voice saying “Thanks for your input, I know you’re trying to protect me from disappointment but this is important to me and I’m doing this!”

It’s even easier to make changes when you have a supportive coach in your corner to help clarify your goals and partner with you as you take steps to achieve them. If you’re curious to know what it might be like to work with me, go to my website and complete the application form. I work with a limited number of highly motivated clients who want to make positive change in their life, and you could be one of them.