Why Most New Years Resolutions Don’t Last

How Self-investment Can Help Them Stick

***Updated June 2024***

“Like many other people, you’ve decided to make New Year’s resolutions because you know there are things you’re unhappy with in your life.”

-Thibaut Meurisse

Within 1 week of making a New Years Resolution, 25% of the population has already defaulted and lost their motivation.  

The long-standing tradition of setting a New Years’ Resolution, a list of goals you set for the upcoming year, is an exciting time! While I personally see each day as an opportunity for change, there is something to be said for the collective buzz from everyone on the planet being in a similar mindset of self-revolution. New Years Resolutions can be just that, a revolution, a revolt against old behaviors that not longer serve you.

Resolutions force you to seriously reflect on your experiences the year prior and find where there is room for improvement. Has your mental health been where it should be? Are you as social as you’d hoped you would be? How financially healthy are you? These are all questions we ask ourselves in preparation for the “New Year, New You” slogan we like to throw around.

But like any goal, regardless of the time of year, without purposeful action behind your statements, change is unlikely. Many of us, myself included, have made lofty goals over the years, fully intending on actualizing them, but over time for one reason or another have let these dreams slip away until the next round the following year.  

Here are some of the most common reasons why most New Years resolutions don’t last:

1. Old Habits Die Hard

Most of us jump into January 1st cold turkey. When you are so used to operating in a certain way it is hard to establish new routines, especially when those goals are bigger than reality allows.

2. Unrealistic Goals

If my goal were to become a billionaire by the next year, but I have no plan or idea in mind of how to get there (let alone the personal drive, starting capital, and work ethic to do it), it’s unlikely that goal will be reached.

3. Lack of Planning 

Outlining our resolution list is as far as some of us go. We hope for monumental change without laying the proper foundation to ensure lasting results. We want to evolve our diet into healthier standards but yet have not cleaned out our junk food-filled pantry.

In times past I, like many, have found difficulty maintaining the grand goals I’ve set for myself. I start off strong the first couple of months, but by the middle of March progress slows to a slothful crawl; and by June, are all but forgotten. I know I am not alone in this outcome. It would be easy to feel disappointed in yourself, as the goals we set have meaning and purpose to improve our lives for the better, and when they are not reached, it can feel like we are letting ourselves down.

This year, to give myself a fighting chance at New Year’s resolution success, I have decided to implement the principles of Self-investment to help me succeed.

Self-investment (in my terms) is defined by the intentions and actions behind the purposeful steps you take to better yourself in the long term. Like financial investing, we pour our time, energy, and resources into the best investment we could ever make, ourselves! And what better time than the setting of resolutions to redefine our potential? 

Want to dive deeper? Learn more about what Self-investment is here!

It starts with a “Why?”

When setting lasting resolutions it is important to have a meaningful reason behind them. A common resolution for many of us is to lose weight. People typically have a certain number in mind they want to reach, but beyond the general guideline of “being more healthy” why is it important for you to lose weight, specifically? The dedication it takes to physically alter your body requires focus and forward-thinking. Weight change like many resolutions doesn’t happen overnight, results are incremental and subtle and it is easy to become discouraged. The difference between a successful resolution and an abandoned one may be as simple as a perspective shift. Maybe you want to lose weight to be healthy, but the underlying reason is that you want your children to have a positive example of healthy living. You made that goal because you decided to invest in not just your future, but that of your family.

Defining your why not only sharpens your focus but it determines what you recognize as success.

Your resolution of losing weight becomes more than reaching a specific number on the scale. At the end of the year even if life got in the way and you hadn’t fully achieved what you intended, you would still feel successful if your children show signs of understanding health and wellness from your positive example.

The intentions behind self-investment make New Years’ Resolutions more impactful and help maintain focus on your goals when you attach a heartfelt “why” to your objective.

Instead of Strict Processes, Define Principles

New Year Resolutions can easily turn into a well-intentioned but unattainable dream when the guidelines set are so strict they don’t allow for the random nature of life. While I do appreciate plans, to-do lists, and structured rules, they leave little room for the fluid and changeable architecture that is everyday life.

Let’s take the example of a person who has a chronic health issue they are trying to better manage; like Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome [PCOS] (calling out all my cysters out there!). An endocrine disorder that leaves its’ intended with all sorts of unfortunate symptoms like hair loss, weight gain, infertility, sensitivity to stress, and depressive tendencies (to name a few).

To a person who already struggles with stress and anxiety, instead of rigid parameters, follow lifestyle principles that encourage better health management. Adopt the principle of eating foods that make your body feel strong and healthy, but allow yourself time to fully incorporate the new diet, allowing for a learning curve and the breaking of old habits. Adopt the principle of regular health check-ins with your doctor to help monitor your progress, without strictly counting every hormone level and berating your body for not performing better. Healing, especially with an illness that is chronic and potentially irreversible should be dealt with care and compassion, from yourself!

**This is by no means medical advice, seek your personal health professional for serious health issues.**

Taking even one small actionable step forward a day, makes the world of difference to a mind and body that is doing its best.

Self-belief and Failure

 Having the confidence that your resolutions are achievable is more important than we realize. Do you genuinely believe you can accomplish your resolutions? More importantly, do you believe you deserve to? Simple questions, challenging to answer.  

Before In-nested I started a blog called Willow Tree Bake House (WTBH), a mixture of self-development and baking (I know, random). I had my “why”, I had my detailed principled plan and was taking action, but at some point some months in I hit a roadblock of poor self-confidence manifesting itself as a lack of direction.

I began to question every post I made and what my ultimate goal was, comparing myself to other successful bloggers and criticizing my audacity for wanting to put my own “insignificant” words out into the world. After only a handful of months in, the noise in my head become overwhelming and I had to take a break. I stopped posting and took time to reflect on what direction I wanted to go in; considering changes that ranged from color schemes to content to the entire name of the blog! Ultimately the content became too muddled and confusing and though I spent untold hours creating an accompanying online course (that didn’t sell) and blog posts I chose to close WTBH down, which many would describe as a failure.

It is important to check in with yourself and evaluate your current path, believing in your resolutions is vital but knowing when to change direction is equally as important. While that blog no longer exists, so much knowledge was gleaned from the experience and it has set the stage for what In-nested has/will become. 

It is completely normal to become stressed and overwhelmed when things don’t go the way you hoped, and your resolutions don’t last. When those moments come up, remind yourself that the only competition that matters is you, striving for better than the old you allowed.  You control what you think, what you feel, and what you allow. Taking time and space to breathe, relax and refocus is just as important for your growth and achievement as active work. 

You cannot expect perfection the first time you try something new, and you cannot be so unbending to stay in what no longer feels right. Be proud of the lessons learned and the attempt made and move on.

Final Thoughts:

The Ancient Chinese philosophy of ‘yin and yang’ is a Chinese philosophical concept that describes how obviously opposite or contrary forces may actually be complementary, interconnected, and interdependent in the natural world, and how they may give rise to each other as they interrelate to one another. Just like work is contrary but complementary to rest and vice versa. 

Investing in yourself means prioritizing yourself, your dreams, and your resolutions while having the grace to allow for change.

My life-long resolution for In-nested is to share my passion for self-investment and wellness and grow a community of like-minded women who also seek to find fulfillment, purpose, connection, and self-understanding. I welcome you to follow in the journey, join the newsletter “from The Nest” and engage in a dialogue with me as we learn together!

Until nest time,