Sound Off: Setting Unrealistic New Year’s Resolutions

As the holiday season approaches, the thought of past New Year’s resolutions starts to loom over our heads – those 10 pounds you told yourself you were going to drop, that outgoing attitude you swore you would adopt or those straight A’s you promised you would achieve. All these things were spur-of –the-moment ideas that you assured yourself would come true through the magic of New Year’s. Unfortunately, most of them didn’t.

Why did your plans fail? Chances are it’s for one, if not both, of two main reasons:
1. You are setting your sights too high.
2. You don’t really want to achieve those goals.

Too many times I’ve heard people tell me of all the weight they are going to shed or about the total lifestyle overhaul they’re planning for the coming year. I’ve got some sad news; you will almost certainly not get there. You won’t lose 10 pounds in the next month! You probably won’t lose five.

Just because it’s New Years does not mean you have to lie to yourself in order to satisfy your inner ambition. In order to achieve your goals, set realistic ones. Tell yourself to lose three pounds in January – that’s more realistic and therefore achievable. Once you do that, you will gain confidence and you can continue achieving small targets you set for yourself. Maybe you will eventually lose those 10 pounds that you originally wanted to lose, but not all in one go.

Almost as important is that you need to truly want whatever goals you set for yourself to achieve. When people tell me that they have committed to becoming a straight A student, I tend to laugh under my breath. Not because it’s a bad thing for them to try to achieve, but because the people who say this are usually the ones who have many times expressed their contempt for school. They feel momentary displeasure with their effort and results in school, so they decide to promise themselves to reverse their fortunes. Yet in two weeks time they have forgotten about their resolutions or just given up.

If you really want to be successful with your New Year’s resolution in 2011, make sure it is something you truly want and are ready to commit to – and remember to make it achievable.