How Are Those Resolutions Working Out?

Livin’ la vida sofa…

atest press release from Barbara at Motivation on Kimberly Road, issued on Friday, February 16th 2024…

Did you know that 80% of New Year’s resolutions don’t make it into February?

I want to tell you why that is.

The main reason people quit their New Year’s resolutions is because they are excited and motivated for the first weeks but then the motivation levels drop. You say to yourself, “I’ve been really good for a few weeks, now I deserve a treat”, so then you order a takeaway and a bottle of wine. Then instead of just getting back on track the next day and getting out for a walk, you say to yourself, “Oh, to hell with it, that’s the weekend blown now, I’ll just get back on track on Monday and I’ll enjoy myself tonight. It’s Saturday night after all, I’ll have a few drinks and pizza”.

Then, as we know, Monday never comes as you say to yourself, “Sure, there’s no point in getting back to my diet until after my friend’s birthday”. Then you keep putting it off and putting it off until eventually you regain the lbs that you lost.

You are better off if you can pick just small goals. Instead of picking an unrealistic goal of going to the gym 5 days a week, pick something that is more sustainable. Like getting out for a walk for 20 mins, then increase it to 30 or 40 minutes, or try some light exercise videos on our Motivation App that you can use for free.

Another reason New Year’s resolutions don’t last is that often times we make goals that are just too vague. Such as, “I’m going to lose weight and get fit”. Your goals need to be specific, not vague. It could be, “I want to lose a stone in 8 weeks”. Or break it down to 4 lbs a week. Or my goal is to do 30 minutes of exercise as soon as I get home from work.

It’s not a question of willpower, it’s a question of motivation. If you set your expectations and your goals too high, like that daily gym visit, and you don’t achieve that goal, you will feel like a failure, and motivation to achieve any goal will disappear as the feelings of guilt and negative self talk kicks in. So instead, set smaller goals like having one latte less a week, or reading some motivational material every morning. The key to staying motivated is taking small steps.

Don’t believe the stories you tell yourself. You are where you are because of the story you tell yourself. Would you talk to your best friend or your sibling the way you talk to yourself? I doubt it. Say things to yourself that are positive and replace the negative self-talk. Replace “I should have done that” with “I can and I will”, or, “It would have been better if I had done that instead but now at least I have learned from it”.

Don’t focus on stopping bad habits, focus on starting new ones. The more you suppress your thoughts, the more you are likely to think about them over and over, and therefore revert back to our old habits.

One study done in 2008 on the topic of appetite found that those who suppressed their thoughts about eating chocolate exhibited behavioural rebound effects where they consumed significantly more chocolate than those who didn’t!

I’m sure you can think of multiple times in your life when you pledged to give up something and you focus on that one thing so much you end up going the other way. The more you try to focus on not thinking about chocolate or the glass of wine, the more you’ll focus on it. It is this kind of thinking that makes us often label ourselves as all or nothing people, as the kind of person who is either 100% on or 100% off a diet, but really it’s not a personality thing, it’s just your approach. Focus on the habit you want to acquire, not the one you want to give up.

The saying is true that change happens where the pain of staying the same becomes greater than the pain of making a change, so ask yourself is the pain of staying in your current situation greater than the pain of making a few small changes and being at your healthy weight?

Take a piece of paper and draw a line down the middle. On the left, list all the advantages of staying in your current situation and on the right, make a list of all the advantages of making that change.

Studies show that by the start of February, 80% of people have already given up on their New Year’s resolutions. The main reasons for this are a lack of motivation, procrastination, fear of failure, lack of self confidence and irrational thoughts. But the good news is, it’s not your fault! You just haven’t been given the right tools or plan to help you succeed for once and for all.

That’s where Motivation comes in. The clue is in the name.

With the right guidance and tools, all of these obstacles will fade away and suddenly those New Year’s resolutions that you tried in vain to achieve for so many years to achieve become your new way of life, before you even know it.

Want to know more? Request a free call-back where one of our friendly team will guide you through everything you need to know – answering any questions you may have.

That number is 019023364, or you can email the gang on [email protected]. More details here, and our interview with co-founder Aisling here.