Forget New Years Resolutions -- They Dont Work
You can forget about making New Year's Resolutions if you're hoping for a successful outcome. Most aren't worth the paper they're written on.
No less than Mark Twain has written of New Year's Resolutions, "Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual. Yesterday, everybody smoked his last cigar, took his last drink, and swore his last oath. Today, we are a pious and exemplary community. Thirty days from now, we shall have cast our reformation to the winds and gone to cutting our ancient shortcomings considerably shorter than ever."
The biggest majority of New Year's Resolutions have gone by the wayside before January is over and most won't even be remembered six months later. And the reason is pretty simple: Most are made in response to something negative -- a habit or situation that the person wants to change or end. And therein lies the problem - it's hard to develop momentum from a negative response. It is always easier to move toward something rather than away from something.
Consider one of the most adopted resolutions --- weight loss. No one can get excited about losing weight because it requires deprivation. It's a negative response to concerns about appearance, health, etc. The results of weight loss Resolutions demonstrate their weakness. A 1998 survey sponsored by Gardenburger found that more than three-fourths of all women between the ages of 25 and 54 make diet and weight-loss plans each year. Nearly nine of 10 respondents reported only occasional or no success, while almost half lost little or actually gained weight instead.
The people who succeed at losing weight and maintaining the loss have usually been motivated by a dream much bigger and more positive than just losing weight. They see themselves living a healthy lifestyle. They begin to act and think like people who are in good physical shape. There's more of a radical change in a person's thinking and actions than you see with most resolutions. It wouldn't be possible to effect and sustain such a radical change unless the person is motivated by a big dream that is positive in nature.
Another popular aim is to quit smoking. And I can certainly relate to that -- I was a three-pack-a-day smoker until I celebrated a smoke-free New Year's twelve years ago. For over twenty years I had tried to quit many times using every tool and technique I heard about. But as long as I was trying to quit, I couldn't break the grip.
Instead, I developed a dream to become a non-smoker. I fell in love with the idea of breathing clean air instead of smoky air, of my body and clothes smelling nice instead of smoky. I thought about how wonderful it would be to taste food again. I decided to start acting and thinking like a non-smoker, and when the thinking took hold I simply quit smoking. In all the years since, I've never wanted another cigarette, never even thought about wanting one.
If you're going to make a New Year's Resolution this year, make one with a high probability for success. Make a Resolution to develop a life plan. Most people are in a free-fall through life, careening from one crisis to the next. They wake up one day and 10, 20, 30 or more years have passed and they're nowhere near where they thought or hoped they'd be. Working with a life plan you're much more apt to be excited by what the future brings even if you succeed at attaining only a small part of your plan.
A life plan should address all areas of your life including finances, health, relationships, career, spiritual and even recreational. While a lot of our focus tends to be on financial issues like increasing income or decreasing debt, or health issues like losing weight or quitting smoking, the undeniable truth is that a life lived out of balance isn't a life of quality at all.
If you were going to build a new house and you had this idea for a fabulous master bedroom suite, you wouldn't rush out and start building the master bedroom. You'd have a complete plan before you started. When you approach resolutions and goals in the same manner, you end up with a much better chance of achieving success.
Copyright © 2004 Vic Johnson
Vic Johnson is a popular motivational speaker, author and Internet Infopreneur who has created some of the most visited personal development sites on the Web, including the goal setting portal, http://www.Goals2005.com that features goal setting programs and software as well as weight loss, smoking cessation and debt reduction solutions.
Latest News
US Water Polo Team Will Play for Gold New York Times, United States - The Australians scored immediately in transition off the penalty to pull within 1, then tied the game on a goal by Kate Gynther, setting up the final tense ... |
 Xinhua | Follow the lead of Michael Phelps The Leader Newspapers, NJ - A long-term goal is attainable two or more years from the date it was set. It helps in setting a path to complete and attain short-term goals, ... The ultimate swimmer Phelps will rest, but isn't stopping Phelps makes Olympic history |
Setting new sights Palo Alto Online, CA - He likes Palo Alto, and living here independently is a goal, he said. "When I came here, I couldn't walk backwards or speak loudly," he said. ... |
 NEWS.com.au | Brazil beat foes to reach final TVNZ, New Zealand - Brazil beat reigning World Champions and main rivals Germany 4-1 to reach the Olympic woman's football final and setting up a tantalising showdown with USA. ... Japan to face US medal test |
Lady Tide setting sights high Clearfield Progress, PA - Defensively, the Lady Tide will send Tess Bloom, Taneil Bumbarger and Jenessa Stiles out to keep the opposing team away from their goal. ... |
Palace Bow Out In Semi-Final Thriller At Charlotte OurSports Central (press release), WI - Val Teixeira stood over the ball and directed his teammates as if setting up a cross into the goalmouth. But Palace had faked Charlotte perfectly as ... |
 Goal.com | Aircel Gets Wired To Football! Goal.com, Switzerland - The award-winning corporate house is now setting an example to the rest, and investing in the sport of football. They have announced a tie-up with Shillong ... |
Full Year Statutory Accounts Sydney Morning Herald, Australia - Our revised people development system is based on clear goal setting, honest career development discussions and ongoing feedback about performance. ... |
 Goal.com | MLS Saturday Round-Up: DC Spoil McBride Debut, Columbus Go Top Goal.com, Switzerland - Jeff Cunningham’s scored his 100th professional goal in his debut for the Hoops. But in the end Guillermo Barros Schelotto had final word, setting up two ... |
 Telegraph.co.uk | Premier League Team Of The Week: Round 1 Goal.com, Switzerland - A fantastic and much deserved debut goal too. Xabi Alonso (Liverpool): Came on after the break and turned Liverpool's display around, eventually setting up ... Man United victory kicks off new season |
Resources
-
Sorry Currently Unavailable