Don’t do it. Don’t make a list of new years resolutions unless you are fully committed to seeing it through. In reality you may not be. Did you know that the average New Years resolution last only 12 days? Just 12 days and they say that it takes 21 days to form a habit! While 21 days is a good start, it really takes about 66 days to create a habit. So in reality, you will have to dig deep if you want to hit that goal.
Why skip the New Years resolutions altogether? Because you are doing more harm to yourself than good. Let me explain. Years ago when I still offered hypnotherapy in my practice, I would always see a surge of people wanting to quit smoking, lose weight, and so on, towards the end of the year. What I learned was, those who wanted to do those things during a different time of year, did far better. Why? Because they thought it through and in most cases got tired and were not only ready for change, but we willing to create it. When we jump on the New Year’s bandwagon, we are buying into a belief that we can change and we can. But many times, we’re just not ready.
I would end up seeing, that those who wanted to make changes for the New Years, ended up coming back to me because they felt like a failure (because they didn’t hit their goal). Or, they would come from other sources (personal trainers, nutritionist and so on). This doesn’t mean that I failed my clients. Nor does it mean the personal trainer or the nutritionist did as well. What this means is that no one can make you change except for yourself. We can lay out a plan and add some accountability, but in the end, it is all you!
Set your goal aside until February
So on this first day of January, ask yourself one simple question. “Am I stronger than 2 weeks?” If the answer is yes, my advice would be to set that goal aside until February. If that goal is still a burning desire, then make a plan. Get your supportive team in place and then execute. The reason why is that you’re probably already feeling bad enough because you’re drinking too much, in a toxic relationship or something as common as wanting to lose weight. Don’t also beat yourself up because you failed at your New Year’s resolution. That may only make futures attempts even harder.
Be ready. Be stronger than any excuse or criticism. Now go and create the new you.
