4 Reasons Your New Year’s Resolutions Flop

Hey there!

How are your new year’s resolutions coming?

How many have you implemented so far?

What’s the progress rate? Excellent? Good? Or “Meb, cut me some slack”?

Hehe…

Do you even remember the new year’s resolutions you made?

Where did you write them?

How often have you visited them since the beginning of the year? Not so often?

Well, I’m not here to browbeat you, neither have I come to throw barbs at you.

I’ve not also come to tell you to stop making new year resolutions. Being a better version of yourself is something you should never stop doing – not at any point in your life!

I’ve come to offer you hope, solution, solace – if you’d say that.

I’ve come with peace!

And I’ve come to help you see new year resolution (and every other resolution or decision you make in life) from a different lens.

Are you in?

Great!

Let’s dive in.

What Are New Year Resolutions?

In simple terms, new year resolutions are those decisions you make to take specific actions, especially at the start of the year. You could decide to learn a skill, stop a bad habit, draw closer to God, be at the top of your game, or pay more attention to healthy living.

And hey, whatever your resolutions are, whether you are currently crushing them or not, I’m proud of you. I am proud of you because you recognized the place of resolutions in helping you do better at life.

But, Why Does It Seem Like Resolutions Do Not Work.

I’m sorry to break this to you. YOU are the reason your new year resolutions do not work. You’re probably not doing something correctly.

So, here are some reasons your new year’s resolutions flop, even when you’ve double-checked that they’re specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound.

You Do Not Have a Solid ‘Why’

You probably stumbled upon your favorite influencer’s social media posts where she vowed to shed 100 pounds. Maybe you heard your pastor say he would pray 5 times every day throughout the year, or you heard your academic mentor mention how he would finish 1000-page books every 2 weeks. And off you went, crafting a long list of things that would help you meet up.

News flash! You are not those people, and you’re not wired the way they are. Consequently, that new year’s resolution won’t work for you – even if you live with those people.

Now, when you copy other people’s decisions, you do what we all know as copy and paste.

Do you know what happens when you publish ‘copy and paste’ projects? Google penalizes you heavily for plagiarism. The same thing happens when you do things because others are doing it. Life penalizes you!

If you’re going to set new year resolutions or any goals at all, have reasons for doing so. And hey, not just reasons from the blues. But for reasons that align with who you truly are and will not bring you chaotic stress in the long run.

When you have a good ‘why’ for your resolutions, you’ll be convinced about them. Consequently, you won’t get weary of following through.

You’ve Not Set Your Priorities Right.

Even when you’re sure about the reasons you set your resolutions, they may still not work if you’re placing the cart before the horse.

You’ve got to get your priorities straight!

Imagine setting a new year goal to make a million dollars monthly when you still struggle to fine-tune your mindset to the frequency of the flow of wealth. In plain words, you still struggle with a poverty-inclined mindset. You didn’t also talk about learning the skills or gathering the experience that would fetch you that money. How would I happen?

You’re Being a Grown Up

Yep. Being a grown-up can sometimes drain your energy and disempower you from achieving your goals.

What I mean here is that you’re taking big chunks of your goals at a time, the way an adult chews large chunks of meat or food.

If your resolutions and goals would work, you’d have to try to break them up into activities that can fit into 24 hours.

Learn to take those baby steps first, then modify them into adult strides with time. Why not start praying for 10 minutes every day before graduating to a 2-hour midnight stretch?

You Lack MEAL

Just before your favorite food comes to mind, MEAL stands for Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability, and Learning. And yes, your resolutions need MEAL.

You need to actively monitor each activity – as often as necessary. For me, daily to-do lists are my most effective surveillance system. They help me keep my activities in check by ensuring that I capture the necessary ones per day.

You need to check your progress with expected results. $200,000 monthly income? Constantly check why you’re still at $50,000 to figure out how you can speed up the remaining $150,000.

You’ve got to be accountable too! You need someone or a system to keep you accountable. One accountability trick I use well is to inform someone I respect (or someone who looks up to me) about my resolutions. That way, I’d dare not ever be found lacking because I won’t want to look irresponsible.

Finally, your resolutions may evolve or need you to evolve along the line. Don’t be impatient when you find that you still need to hone your skills to achieve your goals. Instead, work with a growth mindset and be open to embracing learning, changes, and positive modifications as you accomplish your goals.

Tell me in the comment section, which point are you sorely guilty of?

What would you start to do differently?