People claim that New Year's is the perfect time to commit to eating healthier, working out, reducing the amount that they gossip. The list goes on and on. There is one fatal flaw that is linked to all of these goals.
THEY ARE BULLSHIT.
Yes, they are great goals and yes, studies have shown that if attempted in a certain way, they can be successful. This, however, is also linked to whether you have the right level of commitment and excitement for it. Unfortunately, for a majority of the country, those that do this for the sole purpose of creating a goal at the beginning of the new year, are destined to fail.
I'm sorry, but it's the truth. The simple fact that people create unrealistic goals only at a certain time of the year is insane to me. Not only does it set up an environment filled with unnecessary pressure, but it can also result in the feeling of self-deprivation, a feeling in which individuals put themselves down and beat themselves up for inability to achieve their goal.
The pressure that goes along with New Year's Resolutions has a lot to do with what society thinks we should be doing. We should be getting skinnier to fit into that size 2 that we used to fit into TEN years ago. We should be enjoying working out because we are 'supposed to'. The common flaw is that we are doing many of these goals not for the benefit of ourselves, but to improve the way that our peers view us. This results in a feeling of pressure to conform, to become something we are not, to become something we are not destined to become.
Don't believe me? Check out Psychology Today's article about the science behind why New Year's Resolutions are destined for failure...
The truth of the matter is if you are doing something 1) for others and 2) because it is that time of the year, you are destined to fall short on your task. You need to do these things for yourselves, and whenever it is convenient and most important to you. Following when society has strictly told you is an appropriate time to make a goal is unrealistic, unhealthy, and unmanageable. That being said, there are many reasons that resolutions can be beneficial if approached in the proper way.
Not all resolutions are bullshit, but those that are based around a "new year, new me" mindset are setting themselves up for disappointment.
If you need help creating and actually achieving resolutions, in the long run, check out these articles!
