Avoid These Common New Year’s Problem-Solving Traps
No matter what we say to ourselves, the vast majority of New Year’s promises are not kept . The promise that next year will be a little better if you just work hard enough is very compelling – so compelling that we ignore how rare it really is.
One of the main reasons New Year’s promises don’t come true is poor goal setting. Think of the typical solutions that go with the New Year, New Me attitude: losing weight, starting a strict gym schedule, following a strict diet, taking important career steps, saving or making a lot more money, and often all of the above. Accepting some or all of these goals at the same time – which is essentially asking to be a different person in a year – is not technically impossible, but also unrealistic or healthy. If you’re serious about really sticking to your decisions this year, you need to know what makes a promise to yourself unfulfilled.
Don’t expect miracles
There is nothing magical about January 1st. Of course, the end of the year is the perfect time to reflect on your personal situation and how you could improve it, but that doesn’t mean you can (or should) expect New Year’s decisions to be revised. Your life.
Extreme goals – fast, unstable weight loss ; setting up a million dollar company; Do-it-yourself bowel repairs throughout the home when you’ve never held a hammer in your hands isn’t just wishful thinking, it’s also potentially dangerous. Because these are such difficult tasks, you are unlikely to make much, if any, progress, which only fuels feelings of shame and guilt. To make matters worse, any progress you make will be at the expense of your physical, emotional and / or financial well-being.
Do not overdo it
Another great way to miss out on New Year’s promises is to set too many of them. A long list of goals can be downright overwhelming, distracting and making it difficult to achieve what you set out to do. If you really want to make some kind of change in your life, stay in control. For most people, this means a maximum of two to three resolutions.
Don’t create future conflicts
Resolution overload is not just a matter of taking on more than you can reasonably handle. It can also look like setting a certain number of goals that directly contradict each other. For example, by making 2022 you finally build a home gym is a big goal, as long as you don’t also make it a year you will cut down on hobby spending. Before deciding on a course of action to resolve the issue, do a quick sanity check to make sure you are not shooting yourself in the foot.
Keep it simple and specific
The best way to make your decisions realistic and believable is to be as specific as possible. Rather than just saying you want to “get healthy,” “get green,” or “focus on your relationship,” define what these goals really mean to you.
In practice, this means asking yourself the tough questions: Is “healing” the code for “dietary change”? If so, what changes do you want to make and why? What does green look like in terms of everyday behavior? What relationships do you want to “focus” on, and how? Whatever your answers, use them to outline specific criteria for achieving your goals. That way, you’ll know exactly what it takes to stay on track – and when all your hard work finally pays off.