According to research a lot of people have failed at maintaining their New Year’s resolutions, an article in BlogHer stated that 38% of people have already given up. The research was conducted by My Voucher Codes who surveyed over 2000 Brits in the UK aged over 18 to explore whether people actually stick to the resolutions they make. They found some really interesting results, not only do quite a few of us give up on the resolutions, but most of us gave up because we had no motivation or we didn’t really have the time to keep up with them.
They also found out the most common resolutions people make:
- Lose weight
- Stop smoking
- Eat healthier
- More family time
- Go to the gym
Looking at the list, these ring true, and I wouldn’t be surprised if at one time or another we have made these resolutions. In an ideal world, losing weight would be easy as would stopping smoking, but as with a lot of things it’s easier said than done. We can come up with a million excuses as to why we didn’t keep up with our resolutions, but really we don’t have anyone to blame but themselves. However the main reasons given in the survey for giving up were:
- No motivation – 38%
- No time – 25%
- Too hard – 17%
- Outside influences – 15%
- Too expensive – 10%
Speaking about the findings founder of MyVoucherCodes Mark Pearson said:
“Every year millions of people start of the new year with good intentions about sticking to the resolutions they make and every year many fail before we even get through January. I am not surprised that the most popular resolution people make is to lose weight, Christmas tends to be a time of over indulgence where you put on a couple of extra pounds, however they can be tricky to lose. And equally unsurprised that lack of motivation is the main reason cited for giving up.
He added
“There is a lot of pressure stating a new year with resolutions to stick to, not to mention the cost of some of these resolutions at a time of year when money can be tight. It might be worth considering looking at making goals to aim for throughout the year, so you don’t have to start working on the ‘new you’ right after the hectic festive season. Give yourself time to get organised and ease into changes rather than throwing yourself in at the deep end.”
However never fear, there are a few things you can do to help you stick to your resolutions:
Goals
Setting end goals which are achievable is the first step towards success, don’t be afraid to set a couple for the same resolutions, starting slowly. So for example if you want to lose weight then look at setting target weights to reach throughout the year, taking into consideration anything which you may have on such as holidays or big events.
Motivation
What is your motivation for your goal? Is it to fit into a particular outfit, become fit enough to take part in a sporting event or save money? Keeping your motivation in mind will help you keep positive about your goals.
Accountability
If you don’t go to the gym or if you eat something you shouldn’t do, will you make yourself accountable? Or do you trust a friend or partner enough to keep you on track. It’s okay we all have cheat days and once in a while is fine, but if every day is a cheat day then you will fail at your resolutions.
Reward
Although your motivation in achieving your goal is a reward in its self, sometimes we just need to give ourselves something extra, it’s the whole carrot and the stick argument. If you succeed at keeping up with your resolutions and your goal then why not reward yourself with something, big or small!