New Year’s Goals

At the start of a new year, it is popular to create New Year’s Resolutions, but how effective are they? Is there a better solution? According to a published study by the Journal of Clinical Psychology, only 46 percent of people who have New Year’s Resolutions are successful. Meaning that more than half fail. The main reason for this is a lack of specifics. Simply saying, “I want to exercise more,” or, “I want to learn a new hobby,” will most likely be unsuccessful because there are no details.  

A solution to the lack of successful New Year’s Resolutions is to create a New Year’s Goal. It is important to have a specific, clear, well defined goal and to pinpoint a specific behavior or habit that has prevented success in the past. Instead of saying, “I want to exercise more,” say, “I want to go on a run every Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday. I will download an app to track my progress and to send me reminders, so I don’t forget.” This way people are held accountable for their actions.  

Goals should also be measurable and attainable. Being able to see progress increases motivation. Measurability could be weight, amount of progress on a project, dates, etc. It is important to know your own strengths and weaknesses when it comes to making a goal. Creating smaller goals with a shorter timeline, which helps to obtain a larger goal, is a great way to make a goal attainable. Creating a large goal that is unattainable will lower self-esteem and motivation because it is easier to quit.  

New Year’s Goals instead of New Year’s Resolutions can make the endgame feel more reachable. Small steps can have the greatest impact and having a clear path to success should make the journey easier. So, although New Year’s Resolutions have been proven not very effective, there is a solution.