New Year, Same Resolutions

As we all know, having lived through sixteen New Years, give or take, people start making resolutions. There are the obvious and expected goals for the New Year, like losing weight and managing debt. Then there are obscure resolutions, like “learn how to dance like Beyoncé” or “do less laundry and wear more deodorant.” As a majority, we give great thought and time to our New Year resolutions, but for all this time and effort, how many of us really follow through?

Proactivechange.com shows that 75% of resolution-makers keep them in practice past the first week, 64% after the first month, and 46% after six months. Within the first week 25% have already given in. So how do we decrease this trend of failure? Here are a few suggestions: Write down your goals. By having a list of goals, you can keep track of your achievements while having a constant reminder of the task at hand. Limit yourself to a few resolutions. When people have an abundance of resolutions, they forget them. If you limit yourself to one or two, you can concentrate on the most important ones. With greater concentration, you will have a greater chance at succeeding. Have an accountability buddy. By having someone else keeping you on track, you are less likely to break your resolution.

As for this worldwide tradition, it is quite clear that it won’t be going out of practice any time soon. So hop on the bandwagon and follow through on those resolutions.