New Year’s resolutions fail a lot – I don’t make them, and you shouldn’t either.
I feel like only gyms benefit off New Year’s resolutions – whose memberships explode in January (and then return back to normal in February).
I have a friend who avoids the gym in January. He’s a regular gym-rat, but with the obnoxious influx of annoying people, he’s not able to lift weights without rubbing shoulder with all the sweaty morons. So he takes a month off, does some cardio and outdoor winter exercises. And then returns to his proper routine once the initial excitement wears off.
New Year’s Resolutions Fail – Motivation
How then does motivation work? How is my friend able to commit to the gym 11 months out of the year, while a huge influx of people are failing at life for 1 month?
There’s some significant patterns here. Do you see it?
Regardless of what the underlying motivation is, statistics tell us New Year’s resolutions don’t work. So why would you make one?
You don’t have to be a genius to understand this phenomenon. Just look around you. Look at your friends and family. Look at yourself.
When has a New Year’s resolution ever worked for anyone? (The answer is never)
New Year’s Resolutions Fail – A Date
Don’t get me wrong, wanting to commit to something and adopt a new healthy routine is certainly commendable – it should be pursued. What I’m warning against is the arbitrary date of January 1 and joining millions of other slackers on projects they’ve been avoiding.
If you need a date to start a new habit, you’re going to fail. If you’re internally telling yourself, “I know this habit is bad, but I’ll keep doing the bad habit until 2018, then I’ll stop” – you’ve already lost.
What’s the difference between my gym-rat friend and New Year’s resolution quitters? There are many similarities. They both want to work out and be healthy. They’re both committing to a healthy lifestyle.
What’s that internal drive, or that internal motivation that makes one workout for an entire year, while the other quits after a month?
I actually don’t know.
New Year’s Resolutions Fail – More Questions
I tried to do some internet searches, and found nothing. Some people ran studies on why New Year’s resolutions fail, but I think they’re wrong.
Somehow, somewhere, the answer lies within us. And you know what? I think you actually know the answer. You know the answer for yourself, I don’t need to tell you.
The answer is different for us all. It’s what drives us and motivates us.
Like take my ridiculous blog, for example. Do you think I waited until January 1 to launch it? No. That would be dumb. I think I launched it on a Tuesday. Just a random Tuesday.
I hope you aren’t waiting to launch a blog as a New Year’s resolution either. It’s guaranteed to fail. I don’t even know who you are, or what drives you, but you’re going to be a statistic. And you’ll fail. (But hit me up in February and let me know you progress, if you last that long)
New Year’s Resolutions Fail – Need For Change
A couple years ago I became a vegan. I had some high cholesterol results scare me and I wanted to make a change. I wasn’t trying to lose weight (and it definitely wasn’t a New Year’s resolution). When I saw how eating healthy can impact your health I decided to jump on board. It was like “snap.” The next day I was vegan.
It’s hard to explain what happens in my mind – it’s not like I’m special or have super powers.
The comedian Will Farrell said it best, “My fear of failure never approached in magnitude my fear of what if. What if I never tried at all?”
It’s not the fear of failure that scares me. It’s the fear of never trying at all.
When I decide something is wrong and I need a change, I make it happen. I’ve been stuck in too many frustrating situations in my life. I’ve felt too many “groundhog day” type moments where everything is the same, day after day. And there’s no end in sight.
Whether I’m miserable in my job or life situation, internally I know things need to change. I don’t wait until New Years to change. I do it now.
And yes, I try things and fail. Failing hurts. But not as much as being stuck where you are and miserable for an entire life.
I imagine if I’m miserable on a Tuesday, that I’ll repeat that day, every day, for the rest of my life. I’ll have spent 75 years of my life living the same day, over and over.
And that scares the crap out of me. I can’t bear to live a life like that – I don’t think anyone wants to live a life like that.
I think God even calls us to trust him, and to rely on him. He has our best interest in mind, and doesn’t want to see us tortured.
Do you think God wants you wasting away in a cubicle for the rest of your life (like a prison sentence)? Or does he want you to trust in him, to take risks and chances, and to do something amazing?
I bet you already know the answer.
New Year’s Resolutions Fail – Need For Change
- Don’t wait until January 1 to make a change
- Don’t get stuck living miserable days, every day, for years
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What makes you miserable? Are you willing to make a change? Do you think it’s important to have a New Year’s resolution?
