How to Make New Year’s Resolutions Stick

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Over 90% of New Year’s resolutions fail.

Sure, the figures vary from source to source, but they’re generally around 95%. In fact, I considered skipping this topic, since there’s such huge stigma associated with New Year’s resolutions that they’re almost bound to fail.

Then I laughed at myself for that kind of thinking. We’re personal development folks, we don’t care what percentage of unprepared people fails! We figure out what works, and then do that!

So today, I bring you a few key ingredients that make New Year’s resolutions stick!

Forget about New Year’s resolutions

Ironically, the first step to successfully making a New Year’s resolution stick is to forget that it’s a New Year’s resolution!

There’s too much stigma associated with New Year’s resolutions in our culture. They’re akin to making a wish, hoping things will change without any real effort on your part. Then you fail, and go on to laugh with your friends about how New Year’s resolutions always fail! (And start comparing who managed to fail faster. You lasted for 6 whole days? Sucker!)

That’s perfectly okay, as long as your goal is to feel connected to your friends and you’re quite happy with your life.

If your goal is to make some changes, forget New Year’s resolutions.

Let’s start with a clean slate. Call it something else. I like “January Habit Change”, but feel free to pick another term you like. So here’s the first step:

1. Call it a “January Habit Change”

And close second, let’s further dissociate this from all the stigma of New Year’s resolutions:

2. Pick a different starting day (like 15th January)

(By 15th January, most of the New Year’s resolution craze will have blown over, so you can focus on making lasting changes.)

3. Make it a 30-day trial

Here’s the next step. Give yourself a deadline. I generally recommend 30 days for a solid habit change, so let’s go with that.

The deadline keeps you focused and commited. It’s hard to commit to NEVER EVER eating a donut again. It’s easy to decide not to eat any donuts for 30 days. Then you can decide if you want to keep the habit change, or go back to your old behaviour.

I could continue, but the rest is advice that applies to any habit changes. Others have covered that topic much than I could, so I’ll just point you to a great article by Scott H. Young: Begginer’s Guide to the 30-day Trial.

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I haven’t decided yet what my January Habit Change will be. Of course I’ll let you guys know when I do, so you can hold me accountable

And that’s it! May today be the beginning of a new era… where you make meaningful changes at the beginning of a new year, and make them stick!