Its that time of year again. The time when the calendars are reset and goals are made. It's the fresh beginning that many need. But New Year's resolutions get a bad rep since they fail so often. But why is that? The answer is quite simple. And there are many ways you can fix that resolution rut and rise above to see your goals take flight.
We live in an age of technology and information. Everyone says that you can learn anything, so there are no excuses. But this surplus of information is working against us in many ways, than for us. When we embark on a new goal, we have the tendency to research, read, and over analyze said goal. Many of us end up going down a rabbit hole of videos and articles relevant to our goals. Eventually we become overwhelmed and have too many perspectives on that one subject. We also end up seeing videos or articles explaining why that said goal is impossible or not worthy. We see perspectives from people who achieved that same goal and people who failed at it. The one's who failed at it will set up a strong argument for why that goal is not worth it. The one's who succeeded will end up becoming a benchmark we constantly compare ourselves too, and that is hindering of progress.
For example, most people set New Year's resolutions about starting a business or starting a fitness journey. When you over analyze and research both of these topics, you will be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of pros and cons. This eventually leads many to start doubting themselves. Hesitance and doubt begins to build up. And this is exactly where most resolutions are ditched.
The point is, to make a goal happen, its less about reading up on it and more about taking action. Just start and take those baby steps towards your goal. Don't over think, you will learn all your lessons from doing not by drawing conclusions from other sources. The struggles and practicalities will follow you and you will improve after every failure. Failures help you weed out ineffective methods and improvise. That is what moves you forward towards the end goal. Preliminary research is needed and good, but overdoing it is only hindering you from ever starting.
The next reason why many don't achieve their New Year's resolution is because of failed execution. Typically with a business resolution or specially a fitness resolution, people go all in at once on January 1. People with fitness goals will straight away hit the gym and start doing hardcore exercises while going in a restrictive diet. Many times, we have unrealistic expectations. We expect to see results as the month ends. But in reality career and fitness goals are slow arduous processes that are build up by tweaking habit by habit. I have always been petite in stature, but I wanted to tone up. So I started my fitness journey and so far it's been 2 years. I've been at the maintenance phase for a while now, but the run to this phase was strenuous. I began easy, I started by dancing and learning my favorite choreographies as a form of exercise. Soon it compounded from there as cardio got added, then resistance workouts, and eventually muscle toning and ab building. Now imagine, someone overweight or unfit embarks on a fitness resolution. They want to see results, but going hardcore all at once at the gym in January is not fixing the problem. It leads to burn out and eventually many give up.
Resolutions are achieved by changing the foundations of our habits. Regarding fitness, I would first recommend doing something small like cutting out snacks or taking a light jog everyday. Your body and mind will adapt to it and soon it will demand more. You will then have to add on a more physically demanding workout. The cycle keeps going and going for a many months, even years, until one day you have an intense workout routine, a healthy diet, and the body you desire. Changing small habits at a time decreases the chance of relapse or withdrawal.
With business resolutions, instead of gambling all your money away and quitting your day job, start with the baby steps. Head on initiative is good and I mentioned early that taking action is the goal, but action should be taken with tact. Start of by investing in a small amount of merchandise and play around with selling and marketing. Find the niche and set up that works for you. Do not fall for those quick fix business online programs that promise to make you an ace in e-commerce. And do not hold the unrealistic expectation of topping the Amazon Seller page in a couple of days. Take the action, but take the baby steps first.
Another popular resolution is improving grades. Students love a fresh new semester to turn things around. But they too approach the goal poorly. They start downing textbooks voraciously, taking more notes than they need, and studying for hours to the point of burn out. Start by improving your note taking system, read textbooks more efficiently, create study guides, and kick the habit of procrastination. Small changes snowball into larger effects.
Many people also create New Year's resolutions to limit screen time or tech use. Then they go on a tech fast, where they force themselves to go hours without touching their phone. Screen dependency is a deeply wired issue in the brain. Phone use activates the dopamine reward and addiction system in the brain. As simple as quitting social media or browsing sounds, it can be as tough as quitting drugs on a neurological level. People who go on tech fasts eventually snap and end up consuming social media voraciously again. My advice would be to start by stopping screen use for an hour or two each day. Then slowly build up from there. With the new time slot open, you will need to find something productive to fill it. Productivity is the main idea behind all of these popular New Year's resolutions.
Resolutions are achieved by slowly breaking down foundational habits and patterns of behavior. Their not the type of goals that you will see short term rewards from. It is always better to inch to the finish line than run fast and burn out midway. Good luck with all your resolutions this year! 2020 also stands for perfect vision, so make this year count.
Thank You For Reading
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