Every year it comes, (quite literally) like clockwork. There’s the countdown at Times Square or gatherings full of party hats and paper glasses reflecting whatever new year has arrived. The transition into the new year is fun. It’s an exciting moment to celebrate and remind us that our world is constantly changing.
Inevitably, each year we reflect on our past year and think about how we can make positive changes for the year to come. New Years Resolution ideas pepper our social feeds with lists and lists of what to do differently in the coming year. We get excited about the change and, quite often, overcommit.
There’s something so emotionally powerful in the idea of turning over a new leaf, but we don’t really know how to do it.
It’s even harder when you try to turn over 20 new leaves at one time.
So, why do we put ourselves in this situation almost every year?
We make these promises to ourselves and by the end of January feel utterly defeated.
Overwhelmed with our hopes for change and the feeling that since we’ve already failed our promises in the first month of the year, we’ve completely failed. So, we often give up.
Why do we do that? Year after year, and we even tend to make the same resolutions!
That’s why we should rethink how we make our resolutions and not focus so much on rushing into a decision within the first week of the new year. Why rush into a commitment you can’t keep?
After all, these are New YEAR Resolutions, not “New Month.” Silly us.
Plus, January is already hard enough. It’s right after the holidays, it’s known for being blue, and if anything, it’s truly the moment we should be preparing for the rest of the year.
On top of that, actually achieving change takes time. According to research by psychologist Phillippa Lally, it takes an average of 66 days to form a new habit. There are certainly not enough days in January, not even in January and February combined!
So, take a minute now to really consider and invest in a resolution that you want to achieve in the coming year.
The holidays have passed. The year is still just at the beginning. You have so much time.
Knowing what kind of resolution to make can be difficult. Knowing yourself is a pro-tip. Resolutions made just for fun or half-heartedly are not likely to have any staying power.
Consider what you as an individual really want to do differently. A resolution needs to be something you really believe in to actually achieve, like any new path moving forward.
So whether you made resolutions, or not — or whether you plan to make them now, or not — check out the super informative infographic below from Reservations.com. It contains statistics, top resolutions, history, and even science-backed hacks for our New Years Resolutions.
