Ditch Your New Year's Resolutions Day

Didn't we just discuss on January 12 how to STICK to your new year's resolutions? And now we discover today is the day to ditch them! What?

Based on statistics compiled over at Statistic Brain, while 45% of people make resolutions, only 8% are successful in achieving them! Now that's just depressing. 75% maintain their resolutions for the first week of the new year, but by six months, only 46% are still at them. However, people who actually do make resolutions are ten times more likely to attain their goals than those who never make resolutions.

So, I think what is called for here, rather than ditching your resolutions, is to reevaluate them. Most people, myself included, tend to make a long list of goals. Most are improvement or achievement goals. Some are general, some are more specific. I suggest you take another look at your goals. Break them down into smaller increments. Say, you want to lose 20 pounds. Sounds kind of reasonable, right? So you start an exercise program. You've been at it two weeks and you've lost two pounds. You become discouraged. This is going to take forever! So, change the goal - just a bit. Make the goal three pounds a month (or whatever you like), and work on that smaller goal. Before you know it, you've achieved your 20 pound goal!

It's like telling your young child to clean their room. They walk in and feel immediately intimidated. But if you say pick up all the clothes, they can do that. Next, pick up all the Legos. They can do that. And on and on until the room is done.

Resolutions are like that.

So, don't ditch. Reassess. And keep on keeping on!