Do you feel like you have the same resolutions every year? And do you fail the same resolutions every year? You’re not the only one: Only 8 percent of people who make resolutions actually meet their goals.
We asked our experts at the McConnell Heart Health Center, to answer two questions about a few popular resolutions:
1. Why do people fail?
2. How can people make the resolution more attainable?
A closer look at new year’s resolutions
New year’s resolution: lose weight
Why people fail: People who fail this goal are often setting unrealistic targets and expectations. Weight gain usually occurs over time, but people expect to lose it instantly, and it doesn’t work that way! A second factor is that people often take on too many changes at once. Someone may say that to lose weight, they need to start exercising every day or make drastic changes to their diet. Creating too many expectations at once makes it harder to keep up with any of them.
How to make it more attainable: Choose one or two goals to focus on that can reasonably be accomplished in 90 days. Going “public” with your goal can also help you to stay accountable. Ask a friend, family member or group to help you stick with your goal. Check in with your accountability partner frequently.
New year’s resolution: eat healthy
Why people fail: This resolution may be too vague for success and lacks a measurable goal?
How to make it more attainable: What does “healthy” even mean? Get more specific and include an element that will make it easier to tell if the goal has been accomplished. What does that look like? Here are two examples:
1. Eat a salad five days a week for lunch and keep track of lunch choices on a food log.
2. Eat an apple every day for an afternoon snack and include seven apples on the weekly grocery list.
New year’s resolution: join a gym and work out
Why people fail: There are three reasons why people fail this resolution:
1. They set unrealistic goals.
2. They don’t really have a plan for what they are going to do once they join a gym.
3. They fail to get involved in a class, program or service within the gym that can create socialization and relationships that would help with accountability.
How to make it more attainable: Our experts suggest joining a facility that gives you a comprehensive, personalized orientation and program when you join so you will have a reasonable plan for what you are going to do after joining. This will help to set a structure for how many days a week you are going to commit to, what type of exercise you’ll do each day, etc.
New year’s resolution: be less stressed
Why people fail: This is one of those resolutions that may be too ambitious. Those who try to “eliminate” stress as opposed to “reducing stress” may find that trying to eliminate stress is, in and of itself, stressful.
How to make it more attainable: Doing specific activities to lower, not totally eliminate, stress can help make this resolution more attainable. Try yoga or meditation for 10 minutes, three times per week or five minutes daily to better manage stress. Spend 15 minutes a day, twice a day, doing something fun that’s not stressful, such as reading your favorite magazine, exercising, taking a walk, listening to music, etc. Choose activities that are a good fit for your current lifestyle. It’s important to keep these goals easily attainable
New year’s resolution: quit smoking
Why people fail: They go it alone. Overcoming an addiction is hard enough, and trying to do it alone creates another unnecessary barrier to success. Those who think about quitting cold turkey may be underestimating the power of addiction, too. Nicotine withdrawal can be a huge setback, even for the most ambitious of us. Nicotine replacement therapy can be a good tool to help the brain cope with withdrawal and cravings, and help you to focus on building new skills needed to be successful in quitting.
How to make it more attainable: Be open to using a tobacco-cessation medication and/or nicotine replacement therapy, and seek out professional support — in person, by phone or through a website/app — to develop a personal quit plan. Identify your top reasons to quit, recognize your top triggers and create strategies to overcome those triggers
New year’s resolution: spend more time with family
Why people fail: Sometimes, there are competing demands like work-life balance, self-care, etc., that make it difficult to choose more family time over other needs. Sometimes, certain family dynamics may make spending more time with family stressful.
How to make it more attainable: Create opportunities that will allow for quality time, even if not for very long. We all have busy lives, and some people may struggle with a work-life balance. And for some, spending prolonged time with family can be stressful, even though we love them. Try setting limits on time and focus on the quality of time spent together.
Learn to live a healthier life everyday this year with our top wellness tips and advice! To hear an episode about this topic on our podcast, The Wellness Conversation, click here.
