It’s true.
Nearly 80% of all New Year resolutions fail. That sucks.
Fortunately, there’s a way to make your resolutions suck less.
You see, your best shot at making 2022 better than 2021 is to start today…
… or at least this week. (If you’re reading this after the new year has already started, consider this a reason to start slow.)
Here’s why we say that…
The reason most people quit on new year resolutions is the shock it causes to their system.
It’s simply too much too fast. And it overwhelms you physically, mentally, and even emotionally. Not to mention the neurological stress if exercise is part of your new year, new you plan.
For instance, when you start working out after some time off, it can be painful. Literally. Sore muscles. Aching joints. Fatigue.
And when you start eating better, the cravings that hit when you try to go cold turkey are no joke. Plus, if you haven’t phased out the junk food in the pantry or cut fast food to a couple of times per week? Well, you’re not likely to win the craving battle in January.
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Grabbing food on the go can be a challenge. That’s why we wanted to share this list of top 5 fast food choices for when you’re on the go (in no particular order):
Even if you still get a soda, you’ll be ahead of the game.
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What if there were a better way than to go “all or nothing” on January 1st? What if you were to ramp up or ease into your New Year's resolutions over the last 3 weeks of this month?
What might this look like?
Well, instead of working out 5 days per week starting on Jan 1, try working out 2 days this week, 3 days next week, and 3-4 days the last week of 2021.
You'll be less sore. You'll recover better and you'll get a more realistic sense of where you are.
This same idea could be applied to any goal.
Want to read daily? Ramp up to it over the next three weeks.
Want to spend more time with those you love? Well, if you try to go from barely talking to them to “let’s spend 30 minutes quality time together every night”, it’s not only unrealistic, it can freak THEM out. And make them suspicious of your motives or on guard for the coming crash where you can’t keep that new promise.
In other words?
START SLOW.
After all, starting hard and fast has an 80% failure rate. After years and years of research we know that most resolutions fail by mid January.
So, don’t be afraid to roll into 2022. Take a warm up lap or two starting now.
Use these next 2-3 weeks to find the times of day or routines that work for whatever you are adding or subtracting.
You’ll also have a more realistic view of what all you want to take on when the new year does roll around.
Why? Because you'll have already worked out the kinks and some of the biggest areas of resistance.
So here’s the last question of the day:
What resolutions could you start working towards today?
Let us know in the comments.
Rick M
December 14, 2021
Excellent article.