Why New Year's Resolutions Don't Work

As we go in to 2010, no doubt the majority of the country will have made at least one New Year's Resolution. It happens every year. The end of the old year and the beginning of a new inspires people, it motivates them, and they get the desire to conquer things that have eluded them up to now. Many will resolve to eat healthier, to exercise more often, to be smarter with their money, to find "Mr. or Mrs. Right", etc. We all start out the year strong, determined, and dedicated. We may slip up a little here and there but we remain on course, eyes on the prize, at least until late February or early March, which is when the majority of you will fail miserably at your resolutions, lose all faith in them, and give up. It happens every year, and you know it. The question is...why?

I'll tell you why. For starters, the idea that you have to wait until the beginning of the year to set a resolution is absurd. Furthermore, the idea that you must make a resolution of some kind, solely because it is the beginning of the year is even more asinine. If you want to set a goal to achieve something, you don't start it next month, next week, or tomorrow; you start it today and you start it right now. A good example of this is the common goal to eat better and go the gym. The majority of people choose to begin these goals on the Monday after they have decided it, since Monday in most people's minds constitute the beginning of the week due to that is when the majority of us return to work. They justify this by saying, "I don't want to only work out a couple of days until the weekend, and then stop, and then have to start up again on Monday." Or, "I just need one more good weekend of eating and drinking, then it'll be out of my system and I'll be able to buckle down and get in shape." What an absolute load of crap!

Every few months I take a break from the gym. I believe it's good for the body, it helps the gym not to become a chore, and I'm re-focused when I go back. And when I go back, I don't wait until a Monday, I go when my body says it's time to go, whether it is a Saturday or a Thursday, or whenever. If you procrastinate beginning a goal until a specific time, it's easier to procrastinate it further once that time arrives. I have found that if you begin a goal today, even if you have to take a break from it, you are more likely to get back on track and stick with it.

Another reason New Year's Resolutions don't work is that they are seldom measured and they rarely have an end date. If your resolution is to be better with your money, you need to have a way of measuring that and a time you want to reach a certain achievement. Does being better with your money mean you are saving more? That you are investing more in stocks? That you are merely spending less? These things need to be clarified. If your resolution is to eat healthier, what does that really mean? Less junk food? More fruits and vegetables? Organic? What about a resolution to be nicer to people? Again, what does that really mean? How can it be measured? A resolution that is unable to be measured isn't a goal, it's a wish, and wishes only come true in fairy tales. You also need to have a realistic end date that gives you time to achieve your goal. Saying you want to lose 10 pounds by Halloween, perfectly reasonable, saying you want to lose 10 pounds by next week, probably not so much. Having an end date will help you judge how well you are doing with your goal.

Let's say your goal is to be better with your money. In order to begin you need to clarify what that means. You determine it means for you, that you want to spend less so you can have more in savings, which you can then use to invest. This can be measured! Look at your budget, how many times a week do you eat out? Look at your grocery receipts, how important is it to you that you get two bags of chips? If it is important to you, don't cut it, if it's not, stop buying them. What "useless" bills do you have? Are you paying for long distance but don't know anyone out of state? Do you have HBO and Showtime but never watch them? Has the novelty of Netflix worn off? Is it more cost effective to rent four movies at Redbox a month for $1 a peace, or get four movies from Netflix a month at $9.99? Now, take the money you would normally spend on these items and put them into a savings account. Any bank will gladly set one up for you, many of them without a minimum amount to start it. Each month take the money you would have spent on those items (by the way, don't spend that money on other crap you don't need either) and put it into your new savings account. Set an end time or an end amount. Decide you're going to do this until you have 2k in savings, or until Dec 31, 2010, it's up to you. The point is that you have an end point! Once you've reached that point, do some research and invest in what you feel will be the safest and most profitable option for you.

This is how your resolution doesn't end up a nice wish or an "if only". This is how it becomes not just a goal, but a goal achieved. Tell your friends and family about your goals! They will often help motivate you by asking how your goal is going, or complimenting you on when they see you getting closer to reaching it.

Sounds like a lot of work, huh? Guess what, it does take work! So suck it up lazy-poo! Go get something done!