How To Nail Your New Year’s Resolutions For The Long Term (2024)

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How To Nail Your New Year’s Resolutions For The Long Term? ›

The poll also revealed that just 8% of respondents tend to stick with their goals for one month, while 22% last two months, 22% last three months and 13% last four months. Other studies indicate that the types of goals also matter when it comes to success.

The poll also revealed that just 8% of respondents tend to stick with their goals for one month, while 22% last two months, 22% last three months and 13% last four months. Other studies indicate that the types of goals also matter when it comes to success.

People who stick with their resolutions tend to have a few other things in common with their approach, including having an accountability partner to keep them on track, having visual reminders of their goals, having a compelling reason for change, and making failure more difficult.

What are the most common New Year's resolutions? According to a survey done by Statista, more than half of Americans make goals related to weight loss or eating habits each year. Another large percentage of respondents set career or financial goals.

To conclude, New Year's resolutions are largely a waste of time. Though setting goals as a new year dawns can be a good source of change, this often fails due to how unspecific and unrealistic New Year's resolutions can be. Making them at the start of the year can also make the excitement wear off quickly.

Common resolutions include exercising more, losing weight or saving money, and Shah says that with these, people tend to go too hard, too quickly, instead of taking small steps. He explains that the number one reason people may give up is because their goals are unachievable or idealistic.

Let's see what Scripture has to say. Proverbs 16:9 gives us this truth, “The heart of a person plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” Here, Proverbs is telling us that as we grow and discover our talents and gifts, we make plans that we hope would be fulfilling for us in the future.

In 2019, Strava discovered that a whopping 80% of resolution-makers throw in the towel by the second Friday of January. But before you resign yourself to a year of sweatpants and Netflix binges, take a deep breath. Quitters Day might slow you down, but tools like Reclaim.ai can help keep you on track.

However, while New Year's resolutions might seem lighthearted and positive, sometimes they can end up doing more harm than good to our mental wellbeing. There's nothing ultimately wrong with making a pledge to live your best life or make positive changes, but it's important that we do so in a mentally healthy way.

Create a failure action plan

If your New Year's resolution doesn't come with a plan for what you'll do if you slip up, that's a massive red flag. Contingency planning is key. Build in a plan for adapting your approach if you fall short of your target.

Do new year resolutions really work? ›

Of those surveyed who made resolutions, about 16 percent kept all their resolutions and about 44 percent kept at least some but not all of them by the end of the year — meaning nearly 2 out of 3 people achieved some level of success.

Why do most New Year's resolutions fail? Many New Year's resolutions fail because we expect to make big changes practically overnight. That's not how sustainable changes are made, so it's important to break bigger goals into smaller steps and stay the course.

About six-in-ten adults who made at least one resolution (59%) say they have kept all of them so far, while 28% say they have kept some of them. Another 13% say they have kept none of them. There are only modest demographic differences when it comes to who has broken resolutions and who has stuck with them so far.