RETHINKING NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS!
- Alex Yeboah Sasu
- Dec 15, 2023
- 7 min read
Updated: Dec 30, 2023
New year’s resolution is a big deal for many people. When I was a teenager, I remember how we would always be led to pray about our new year’s resolutions at church, especially during meetings held on the last day of the year (generally known in Ghana as ‘31st night service’). It was so fascinating to watch how much involved most of us would be with the prayers hoping that somehow the incoming year would be ‘different’. I knew a couple of people who literally had a long list of ‘resolutions’, which they used as a guide for their prayers. Despite all that, for some reason, many of us would expend our energy on formulating these resolutions only to find ourselves back in the old patterns much sooner than we thought.
THE SHOCKING STATISTICS
A study done by Strava – an organization that enhances the experience of sports and connect millions of athletes from around the world through their mobile app and website – of 800 million activities predicts that most new year’s resolutions will be abandoned by January 19th. (Strava calls this day ‘Quitter’s Day’. I call it ‘Resolution Dissolution’). Wow! January 19th? That’s not even up to a month after the beginning of the new year. Well, now that we know this fact (perhaps you also add up to that statistic), the question I believe we will all be asking is, why?
WHAT CAUSES RESOLUTION DISSOLUTION?
Just like any complex subject, I do not think resolution dissolution is caused by one particular thing. It’s not a one-size-fits-all issue at all. However, I have identified a few reasons which I will explain using an acronym – FAIL – as indicated below:
Faulty thinking and motivations. I believe that understanding why you do something is more important than doing the thing. As a matter of fact, when you understand the purpose of what you do and that purpose is compelling enough, you’re more likely to follow through than when you don’t. Many people pen down resolutions every new year and yet they do not fully understand why that resolution is relevant. I remember how my resolutions were mostly guilt-inspired. Guilt from my bad habits, sins and actions that I was not proud of, were the things that motivated me and as a result, I was always part of the statistics discussed earlier. Until you have the right motivations, you probably will not be able to break out of the resolution-dissolution cycle.
Absurdity of resolutions. It is one thing to have a resolution, and it is another thing to have the appropriate resolution. Apart from having the right motivations for your resolutions, it’s also important that you have the appropriate resolution. Yes, not all resolutions are appropriate – practical, relevant and realistic – for a particular season. In your quest to prevent resolution dissolution, it’s important to embrace the idea of goals (yes, I believe there is a difference between resolutions and goals). And in terms of understanding how goals work, it's important to differentiate outcome goals from input goals. The former represents expectations or ‘destination’ whereas the latter represent strategy - systems, plans and processes. Both are actually necessary in that the input goals are the means by which the outcome goals are accomplished. The outcome and input goals differ in many ways. One major difference is that, outcome goals are general whereas input goals are more specific. Also, in my opinion, outcome goals must be life-long whereas input goals must be updated from time to time (yearly, in the context of our topic). For example, if a young man in his late 20s has a goal “to manage money well,” that is an outcome goal. Do you see how general that is? Also, do you see why I think this goal should be life-long? Obviously, it’s because I don’t think this young man should ever desire to manage money poorly. On the other hand, if his goal is to “save $1000 monthly” this is an input goal. Do you see how specific it is? And the reason I think it must be updated is that life circumstance may change (for example, he may lose his job) and that will make it impossible to accomplish that goal. Also, as you can see, accomplishing this input goal of saving $1000 monthly, will automatically contribute to accomplishing his outcome goal of managing money well. As a matter of fact, with the right outcome goals, all you need to do is to ask the question ‘how can I accomplish this goal(s) in the current season of my life?’ and you’ll be able to know what your input goals in that season should be. Practically, although it’s best to have both outcome and input goals, it is generally better to have input goals with no outcome goals than it is to have outcome goals with no input goals. If all or most of your resolutions are outcome in nature and structure, the likelihood of a resolution dissolution is very high.
Inability to track progress. Sometimes, a resolution may have the right motivations and may also be very appropriate and yet it would be left unaccomplished. I just want to remind you that one of the functions of your brain is to forget. Yes, you read right! As a result, without some conscious efforts you are likely to lose track of your resolutions. As a matter of fact, you actually consciously trained your brain to keep in your conscious memory certain information which is now easy to remember. Information such as your name, how to brush your teeth, how to chew, how to write, among others, have not always been ‘automatic’. No wonder the Bible has many ‘Remember’ and ‘Do not forget’ instructions. Why? Because we can actually forget to remember! Your resolutions are no exceptions in this case. Until you intentionally and consistently check your progress against your resolutions, you are likely to forget your resolutions. In fact, you may even end up forgetting that you actually had some resolutions in the first place. Apart from helping you to remember, tracking your progress can actually serve as motivation to keep pursuing your resolutions. I play in a recreational-competitive soccer league in the city where I currently live and one of the goals I had set for this year was to score 50 goals for my team. A couple of days ago, during one of my goals reviews, I was surprised to discover how close I was to hitting my target (I had scored 40 goals after 7 months). That discovery stirred up in me some more energy to continue in that pursuit. Resolution dissolution is definitely nearer to you if you do not have a habit of consistently reviewing your resolutions to check your progress.
Less willing to change habits. Albert Einstein is credited to be the first person to define insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”. Every resolution you make is an indirect attempt to make some changes in your habits. This is because your resolutions, no matter how ‘little’ will undoubtedly interrupt your current pattern of living, if it must be accomplished. Many people give up on their resolutions because they are not ready to make the necessary changes needed to bring the outcome they desire. Many people live with the erroneous impression that once they envision something, it will surely happen. Well, that’s far from reality if no relevant action is taken. In that case, it is merely a wish and hopefulness. I am not downplaying hope or wishes by any means. All I am saying is that the necessary steps must be taken. The leadership expert John C Maxwell once said “the secret of your success is determined by your daily agenda”. Also, James Clear said in his classic book Atomic Habits that “you do not rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems.” In other words, if I check your agenda today and the systems you’ve created around you and it has no connection with your resolutions, you’re surely bound to fail and resolution dissolution will happen to you sooner or later.
THE WAY FORWARD
The question is, if the majority of people’s resolutions get dissolved in a short time, why do people still do it? The answer: it works. Well, by saying this, I don’t mean ‘the resolution’ works by themselves. What I mean is, it’s helpful and leads to progress if done with the right attitude and approach. Generally speaking, I dare say that, the one who writes down some resolutions and does not accomplish any of them is better off than the one who doesn’t have a resolution at all. At the very least, writing down a resolution makes you more aware of your current situation. It also makes you tap into your visionary ability and think about ways your life can be better. However, why settle for less when you can get more? How about writing down resolutions and looking back in excitement about how much you’ve accomplished by the end of the year? How, you may ask? Well, I believe that the solution to resolution dissolution is the adoption of life-long goals - goals that are set in a more intentional, efficient and effective way. And the good news is, the attitude and skillset you need to accomplish that can be taught! And the better news? I can help you!
LET'S CONNECT
For over 10 years, I haven’t added to the resolution dissolution statistic because I discovered a way to make my resolutions work. I am offering a free one-on-one online session on how to set practical goals and accomplish them. I am highly recommending this free session to anyone who falls in any of the categories below:
You don't believe in goal setting because you think it doesn't work
You believe in setting goals but have never written down goals for yourself but are looking to start doing so
You experience resolution dissolution almost every year and are looking for another approach
You are looking for opportunities to learn how to set goals for every area of your life and how to ensure growth in each of those areas
Among other things, below are a few things you can expect from the session:
Why goal setting is important
Characteristics of a good goal
How to make your goals a reality
How to avoid procrastination
How to set up a trusted system that will help you track progress and achieve your goals
How to end your day before it starts
If you are interested, kindly sign up by clicking on the link below:
God richly bless you!!
Comments