Life and Career Skills

While I love the optimism of New Year’s Resolutions, unfortunately, the enthusiasm and hope often fades within months, and our efforts at self improvement come to a whimpering end. New Year’s Resolutions usually fail because of a combination of some of these reasons:

1. We try to do too many resolutions at once, and that spreads our focus and energies too thin. It’s much less effective to do many habits at once (read more).
2. We only have a certain amount of enthusiasm and motivation, and it runs out because we try to do too much, too soon. We spend all that energy in the beginning and then run out of steam.
3. Resolutions are often vague — I’m going to exercise! — but don’t contain a concrete action plan and don’t use proven habit techniques. That’s a recipe for failure.
4. We try to do really tough habits right away, which means it’s difficult and we become overwhelmed or intimidated by the difficulty and quit.
5. We try to be “disciplined” and do very unpleasant habits, but our nature won’t allow that to last for long. If we really don’t want to do something, we won’t be able to force ourselves to do it for long.
6. Life gets in the way. Things come up unexpectedly that get in the way of us sticking with a habit.

What Can You Do Differently in 2010?

1. Focus on one habit change at a time, so your focus and energies are not spread thinly.
2. Implement the habit changes gradually, so you don’t run out of steam.
3. Start out really, really easily, so it is not intimidating.
4. Focus on enjoyable activities, so you don’t need “discipline”.

If you stick with the method, you’ll do much better than you’ve done in the past with New Year’s Resolutions. You’ll focus on creating long-lasting habits rather than trying to reach a short-term goal that fails. You’ll maintain your enthusiasm for longer and not become overwhelmed by the difficulty of change. You’ll have habits that will change your life, and that’s no small feat.

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