Why Your Resolution Will Fail in 2009

Now that I have your attention…

I was originally going to title this, “2,009 Reasons Your Resolution Will Fail in 2009,” but decided on the current title for 2 reasons: (1.) It’s a major downer and would generate 0 reads, and (2.) I really didn’t want to try and think up 2,009 reasons your resolutions will fail in 2009.

Moving on. Most stats and cultural studies indicate that the majority of New Year’s resolutions are broken within 30 days. I find this astounding, since most of the people I know who make resolutions for New Year’s break theirs within the first two days. I myself have perhaps gone a week or more. That being said, I have found the strength to lose weight, to accomplish things, and such, but this rarely happened as a result of starting a new calendar.

Whoever began marketing the idea that the first day of the year was a great time to guilt yourself into giving up habits or picking up better ones needed to have his head examined. 

I believe New Year Resolutions set people who subscribe to them up for failure in almost every way. For one thing, there are many things that cause success: strong will, inspiration, education. Guilt is not one of those things. Guilt doesn’t make dreams come true; it doesn’t lead to an inspired life; it doesn’t lead to motivation. In most cases, guilt leads to disappointment, a life driven by other people’s demands, and…well, more guilt.

Think about the words we use to describe our “resolutions.” Think about the following common resolutions of most people:

A. “I resolve to lose weight.”

B. “I resolve to stop eating this junk food!”

C. “I resolve to quit smoking!”

D. “I resolve to be a better listener!”

The list goes on. While none of these are bad resolutions in themselves, they play upon the resolver’s subconscious in even the way they are worded. If you don’t think our subconscious thoughts have a lot to do with the results we achieve in life, you’d best think again. 

By saying that we resolve to “stop eating junk food,” we are putting an emphasis on the negative word, stop. In other words, it means we have to give up something we like. The problem with this is that this creates a negative emotion in the resolver’s mind, thus creating a negative orientation toward his/her resolution. 

Suppose, however, that we used the word “goal” in the place of “resolution.” And suppose that, rather than putting an emphasis on the things we’ll be giving up, we put an emphasis on something that we’ve long dreamed of but never really done, an emphasis on a goal that brings out a positive emotional response.

Rather than give up the things we’re not really crazy to give up, we set goals to:

A. Feel good about myself by having more energy.

B. Have more energy by jogging around my block every day. This will give me a chance to unwind at the end of the day and to get my thoughts together for my goals.

C. Eat foods that make me feel great! The fruits and vegetables that make me feel good and have lots of energy.

D. Travel to a new location sometime each week, even if it’s just around the block. 

These “goals” are far more exciting than the “guilt trips” of having to give up something. By simply changing the way we think about something, we change our likelihood for success. 

This year, don’t set resolutions for what you’d like to stop doing. Instead, set goals for what you’d like to start doing, and then get to work on it. Let me know how it turns out!

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