Before every new year, we all start to conjure up our resolutions or goals before the upcoming year. It may be to lose a couple pounds, start a blog or save money. We all have one thing in common with our resolutions: Most of us never follow through with them. According to Statisticbrain.com, only 8 percent of Americans are successful in achieving their resolution, while the other 92 percent have infrequent success, never make resolutions, or fail at achieving them. That's almost half of Americans that don't follow through with their resolutions! Why can't we keep them? Is it lack of motivation? Laziness? Self-control?
The first couple weeks to a month in January usually go swimmingly. Achieving a goal never felt easier. Once February rolls around, we all start to fall off the wagon and go back to our old, unmotivated selves. Why can't we stick to them? According to PsychologyToday.com, Peter Herman, a psychology professor, identified the "false hope syndrome" which means "their resolution is significantly unrealistic and out of alignment with their internal view of themselves." Setting goals for yourself is an awesome thing to do, but you have to believe you can do it. You have to take baby steps to get to the bigger goal if you think it may be a bit out of reach. If you have a self-bashing attitude and you're negative about yourself, your goals will be much harder to reach. We have to be able to see ourselves in a positive light to achieve our goals.
Another big reason why we can't reach our goals is because we rely on extrinsic motivation. While this works for some people, most prefer to use intrinsic motivation. Extrinsic factors are motivational factors that come from the outside or the environment. Intrinsic factors come from inside of you. Using motivational factors from the inside allow you to rely on yourself as a person. Using extrinsic factors make you rely on other people and things to achieve your goals, like scrolling through Instagram wishing you had a fit body or an expensive, beautiful home. Goals and resolutions are for ourselves and we need to count on ourselves to achieve them.
Last week, I was watching an episode of Shark Tank and Robert Herjavec said, "A goal without a timeline is just a dream." This perfectly applies to those who don't fulfill their resolutions. You don't necessarily have to see the end result, but the steps before the end result. You have to work your way to it and it takes time. Don't give up! Don't be the 49 percent that can't do it, be the 8 percent that can! Here's to 2017 being the year to dominate your goals and resolutions.
