5 Mistakes to Avoid When Making New Year Resolutions

Sometime around the new year, people sit down with pen in hand to write their new year resolutions. Come January they set out with determined resolve to achieve their goal, to do a little better, or to fix whatever they believe is wrong with them. With their newfound motivation, they start off strong, but soon become discouraged. The motivation they once had fades and when the novelty wears out, they find themselves back to where they started, except now feeling defeated and a little less hopeful.

The biggest categories for new year resolutions are generally health, wealth, relationships, or status. The most popular it seems is health. People want to lose weight, get into shape, or improve their overall wellbeing. There is no better place to see this manifest than at your local gym. Starting January 1^st, the gym becomes overly crowded by the new year resolution crowd. By March those numbers begin to dwindle quickly and by April the gym is back to its normal equilibrium.  

To help you stay committed to your resolutions, we have created a guide that will help you avoid the mistakes of the masses. We want to help you make, achieve, and stay committed to a healthy lifestyle. Here are the 5 things you should avoid that will help you live a life of resolve.

1. Waiting until the New Year

If you live a life of resolve, you don’t wait for a new year or for the ideal moment. When you find that you are unhappy with your circumstances and feel the desire to change, you act on those desires immediately. This is when the excited is fresh and the desire is strong. If you wait, you could lose much of the initial momentum that will get you started off right.

2. Writing down your goals only once a year

Many people sit down only at the new year to write their goals down. If something is worth doing at all, it is worth doing every day. Write your goals down often and refer to them often. This will help you keep your goals fresh in your mind, so that you can remain committed.

3. Keeping your goals a secret

From the self-help guru Bob Proctor, “Accountability is the glue that ties commitment to results.” When we share our goals with others, it communicates that we are committed to the goal and are willing to be held accountable by others. This will help ensure success in achieving the thing you desire most.

4. Thinking too small when making goals

Grant Cardone, the author of the book “The 10X Rule”, recommends that you “Set goals that match your potential, not your abilities.” Quite often we set goals where we can clearly see the path forward, but the goals that get us the most excited are the goals that are big enough that the path forward has to be learned. If you find yourself unmotivated when it comes to achieving your goals, it could be because the goal is too small.

5. Underestimating the work involved in achieving the goals

Another pitfall and possibly the most abundant, is that we are unrealistic about the effort and time it will take to achieve a goal. Once we find the right goal and connect it to something we really value, we must be honest with ourselves about how much work will be involved. If we underestimate the level of effort and time needed, we will give up because it’s too hard or we will quit too soon. Or worse, we will reduce the goal which can have a negative effect on future goals where now we are underestimating our potential.

Bonus! Habits for Health

If you are looking to improve your health throughout this upcoming year, we have a few tips to help you get started.

• Drink Plenty of Water
• Exercise
• Avoid Sugar especially sugary drinks
• Maintain a healthy body weight
• Fill your body with antioxidants and nutrients

If you’re looking for one easy thing you could do to help jumpstart your year, see our list of healthy functional teas that may help you sleep better, lose weight, and reduce stress.