The holidays are over and it’s the time of year to start celebrating a new beginning. That’s right its almost 2010 and it’s time to start thinking about that all important goal that you have been putting off because it would make a great new years eve resolution.
Every year hundreds of thousands of people state their New Years Eve goals only to see them fall by the way side only weeks later. Every year 40-45% of American adults make a resolution. Of those that do make a resolution less than 50% keep follow through on it. In the first week alone 25% drop off leaving only 75% remaining. Another week passes and roughly 4% more people jump off the bandwagon. After only a month we are left with 64% still holding to what we stated we would do. After 6 months the pressure gets to over half of us and the number drops to 46%.
Let us think about two sets of numbers from above, 40-45 % (the starting percentage) and 46% after 6 months. Only 40-45% of adults are brave enough to step up and state I have a goal while 55-60% of people are to lazy to even make it that far. Only 46% remain after 6 months, ok that would be a decent number if 100% of us made a resolution but sadly less than half made a resolution which means roughly 21% of people are able to set and keep goals based on these studies.
In my personal opinion people don’t maintain their goals for New Years resolutions because they are not goals they intend to keep. Here is a list of the top 10 resolutions:
- Lose weight
- Manage debt/save money
- Get a better job
- Spend more time with family
- Quit Smoking
- Eat right/Get fit
- Get a better education
- Reduce stress
- Going greener
- Volunteer to help others
It has been proven that people that do things on their own accord are more likely to achieve them then goals set by someone else, or set because they had to set a goal. A favorite story of mine about one of my goals was to give up pop/soda and alcohol for a month. Don’t get me wrong, I am not a soda junkie or an alcoholic but I do enjoy both. How did I get to this goal, I was laying in bed one night almost ready to go to sleep and I said it out loud to myself, no pop or alcohol for one month. It was one of the easiest things I ever did because I believed in the goal.
So if you plan to go out and set yourself a New Years Eve resolution really think about it and make it something you really want to do. If it comes from the list above that’s ok, just make sure you really want to lose weight etc. I believe blow off the New Years Eve resolution, set that goal when you feel ready to set that goal. If you set it on Jan 1st and fail at it, it will more than likely be harder to attempt that goal later, as they say bitten once twice shy.
If you do decide to set that all mighty New Years Eve goal, here are a few tips to make it a little easier to achieve. Envision the big picture, see exactly what you want to do and then analyze what you have to do to achieve that goal. Then take those steps one at a time, all too many times people set a goal and expect to get from start to finish without running the race. While you are taking your small steps measure your progress, if you are trying to lose weight and want to lose 2 lbs a week make sure you are keeping to losing 2 lbs a week. If one week you only lose 1 don’t kick yourself but simply add another week onto the goal, don’t try to lose 3 the next. Keep your small goals the same and keep them constant and in the end you will achieve your big goal.
Sometimes goals take a while go get going. Imagine your goal as a train, they are big, and heavy, and if you are stuck in traffic sometimes a pain in the butt. But like some goals trains take a while to get moving and you don’t see many if at all any results right away, but once that train gets moving with enough momentum and motivation, it can’t be stopped. Keep yourself on track and you can achieve anything.
Train Hard and Plan Smart
Brandon Braner
www.ironbarfitness.com
Loading ...