An Argument Against Setting New Year’s Resolutions

Have you ever been presented with an argument AGAINST setting New Year’s resolutions? Probably not.

It’s absolutely true that the arrival of the New Year is a spiritually cleansing time symbolic of new beginnings, clean slates and fresh opportunities.

But it’s also a chance to shut the door on all of the negativity, mistakes and regrets from the years before. Perhaps that, more than anything else, is what motivates people to change different aspects of their lives and set some concrete resolutions for the year to come.

Every time you tear a leaf off a calendar, you present a new place for new ideas and progress. – Charles Kettering

It’s almost as if the arrival of the a new calendar year serves the same purpose as a starting line. But this kind of mentality, however, may be setting you up for failure before you even begin.

At Merkaela, we believe that the best way for you to increase personal motivation and, most importantly, reach your goals is by NOT making any resolutions when the ball drops. Considering 10% of Americans never live up to their New Year resolutions, really, what’s the point?

Instead, we suggest picking one resolution you’d like to fulfill in the New Year and mindfully setting time aside in your schedule to actively work toward it everyday.

Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning. – Benjamin Franklin

The Statistic Brain Research Institute has been compiling data on the kinds of resolutions American’s tend to make. According to the research, roughly 45% of us make definitive New Year’s resolutions. Out of those, only 8% successfully achieve them, while an overwhelming 24% of people never actually manage to do so.

Most New Year’s resolutions have something to do with self-improvement.

Turns out the number one resolution for 2015 was to loose weight, which makes perfect sense considering all of the holiday festivities. The fourth most popular resolution was to enjoy life to the fullest. Meanwhile, the eighth most popular resolution was to help other people achieve their dreams rather than their own.

However, regardless of how nice the intentions behind these resolutions are, most of people never follow through with actions that could make them a reality.

One of the main reasons people tend to fail is because they set too many unrealistic and therefore unattainable New Year’s resolutions at once.

The excitement brought on by the approach of the New Year makes them more prone to overestimating their abilities, in-effect allowing them to set themselves up for failure. This is commonly referred to as the “false hope syndrome”.

This is where a “less is more” mentality can make a real difference. We can change this pattern by choosing to apply maximum effort toward achieving fewer goals.

Plus, the psychological pressure we put on ourselves to make January 1^st the day we change our lives is simply unnecessary. All it does is create panic and anxiety, which only work to further distance us from our goals.

According to Mark Griffiths, Director of the International Gaming Research Unit and Professor of Behavioral Addiction at Nottingham Trent University:

“Changing your behavior, or some aspect of it, doesn’t have to be restricted to the start of the New Year. It can be anytime. Accept lapses as part of the process. It’s inevitable that when trying to give up something (alcohol, cigarettes, junk food) that there will be lapses. You shouldn’t feel guilty about giving in to your cravings but accept that it is part of the learning process. Bad habits can take years to become ingrained and there are no quick fixes in making major lifestyle changes. These may be clichés but we learn by our mistakes and every day is a new day – and you can start each day afresh.”

One of the main things you need to remember when trying to reach a goal is that a measured and systematic approach is better than an emotional and impulsive one.

What this means is that you may want to do as much as possible in a short period of time to get as close to your goal as you can, but you run the serious risk of burning yourself out. Instead, a long-term plan and a levelheaded mindset can help you achieve overall success as well as allow you to keep your sanity in the process.

If you’re not sure about how to make a long-term plan for achieving your New Year’s resolutions, we have you covered.

We have so much room for improvement. Every aspect of our lives must be subjected to an inventory… of how we are taking responsibility. – Nancy Pelosi

And, regardless of what happens, remember that the most important benefit you can get out of goal setting is not achieving what you set you to achieve, but what you do and who you become in the process.

Goal setting is about providing focus and shaping your dreams. It’s about being able to successfully undertake the necessary measures to emotionally and mentally stretch ourselves as well as grow as individuals and members of our communicates.

The underlying philosophy of goal setting is that in order to reach our most ambitious goals, we have to become better versions of ourselves.

Year’s end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us. – Hal Borland

At Merkaela, we’ve taken this message to heart and have already started working on our New Year’s resolutions for 2017.

We have defined our goals, outlined our plans of action, and carefully streamlined how our operations are going to unfold over the next twelve months. We have also decided to implement

“the less is more concept”.

For our devoted consumers, this means better products, improved customer service, new and intuitive website and so much more.

While we definitely made our case against setting New Year’s resolutions, we sincerely hope to have motivated you to finally master the art of goal setting so that you can achieve all of your goals, regardless of what time of the year it is.

 

 

References

http://www.statisticbrain.com/new-years-resolution-statistics/
http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/amp/57/9/677/
http://www.iflscience.com/brain/psychology-new-year-s-resolutions/
http://theconversation.com/institutions/nottingham-trent-university
http://blog.merkaela.com/reprogram-your-subconscious-mind/