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New Year’s Resolutions are Intrinsically Flawed

Every January 1, millions of people make new year’s resolutions.  They will do this, they will do that.  ”I will go to the gym every day,” “I will quit smoking,” or “I will eat one handful less junk food every day.”  I don’t make new year’s resolutions any more.  They don’t work for me.

I do, however, make goals for the year.  I sat down yesterday – yes, a day or two late – and thought about where I want to be 365 days later.  Okay, 363 from when I actually sat down to think about it.  I thought about the destination, not the means to get there.  The means comes later.

I’ve made new year’s resolutions in the past, and I don’t think I’ve ever successfully kept any of them.  Maybe you’ve got a better track record than me on that count, but chances are that you don’t.

So why are new year’s resolutions so consistently ineffective?  I think it’s because they neglect the all-important consideration of “Why am I doing this?”

Do this.  Don’t do that.  Why?  Because I want to reach this goal!  AHA!

New year’s resolutions are very typically actions that people want to take, or actions they want to stop taking.  Without a strong enough why to underpin the effort – and sometimes the effort is quite considerable – it is only sheer willpower that keeps us going.  Unfortunately, factors that have led us to whatever state of dissatisfaction that gave rise to the resolution will chip away at that willpower.  Very often, the willpower crumbles well before 365 days have elapsed.

Goals, however, are not about the actions we take or do not take.  They are about where we want to be, where we want to go, and most importantly, why we want to get there.

It is for this reason that a carefully considered goal has more power than a new year’s resolution.  The power of the goal is derived not from willpower alone.  Willpower is strengthened by desire, or fear, a sense of righteousness or justice, or a fundamental sense of who you are and what you stand for.  Progress towards goals is supported both logically and emotionally.

New year’s resolutions most often stand on a single support alone: naked willpower.

Well-thought-out goals stand on many possible supports:  fear, desire, self-identify, pride, shame, anger, and yes, willpower.

It is far easier to keep the goal standing up when factors in life chip away at multiple supports than it is to keep the resolution standing when the one and only support is assailed.

I don’t make new year’s resolutions.  They’ve never worked for me.  I make goals.  They’ve been working for me since I started taking them seriously.