Picture this: January 1st, you wake up to the vibrant rays of sunlight seeping through your curtain’s fabrics, you open your phone and your feed is bombarded by photographs of aesthetically appetizing vegetable salads, mirror selfies of people in workout outfits followed by a “stolen” photo of a friend in the middle of a home-based workout session; all posted with a caption that reads “New Year, New Me!”

Laughing was your immediate reaction, in thought that this isn’t the first time you’ve ever witnessed them go all out with their new and fresh fitness regimes and diet. Unmistakably, after a month or so, the healthy lifestyle posts slowly disappeared from your daily encounters in social media and now only remain deep in the accounts of those who had posted them; like a momentary wave that will most likely return next year.

New Year’s Resolutions are commonly unsuccessful. People start with such great spirits to change a certain behaviour, persevere to pursue life-changing habits, and stir their life into a direction that deems better for them. However, along the way, it turns out their brain and body can’t handle abrupt changes and so they let go of the momentum and return to the habits they severely wanted to alter.

Research shows that only 8% are successful in attaining their goals and 80% break their resolutions by the first week of February. Even with these amiable desires and bright perspectives, why do you suppose New Year’s resolutions don’t eventually turn out as effective and successful as one wished it to be?

Reasons Why Most New Year Resolutions Fail:

One, the absence of patience. Typical resolutions flow around wellness: going to gyms, home workouts, and dieting. However, they often want the result to be evident even though it has only been a couple of weeks. The majority of people with fitness resolutions desire the outcome of their three weeks’ worth of exercise to equal those who have been working out for years. Upon them not seeing the immediate improvement they want prompts a decrease in motivation which, in many situations, brings about them giving up.

Second, a lack of self-belief. Since New Year’s resolutions have become a traditional thing for a lot of individuals, the cycle of having done it before and failing most likely repeats every year. The process reiterates itself, leading to disappointment, making them feel horrible with their sense of inconsistency, and losing faith and belief in themselves. They may feel as though they will manage to attain their goal but self-doubt often surfaces and again damages the trust they have been trying to rebuild in themselves.

Third, always what, never why. In regards to fitness resolutions, people tend to always focus on what they want and blurring all else.
“What are your New Year’s resolutions?” is seldom the question, but why? Why do you aim to lose weight? Change your attitude? Undergo the sore of working out?

With those said, here are some tips to keep your New Year resolutions:

1. Start small. Although having grand goals are in our nature, they are most likely to set you up to fail. It is best to start small, though the progress will not be evident sooner, the hard work will be worth it once you attain it.
2. Challenge yourself. Even with a small goal, invent various challenges for yourself. For instance, challenge yourself to be consistent in going to the gym 2-3 days a week and no matter what may happen, don’t let yourself bail from going or make up for the day lost, or challenge yourself to avoid procrastination.
3. Remain optimistic. Hard days and negative thoughts are around the corner. They may show up anytime and affect your state of mind. When this happens, think about your progress and about how great you have been feeling. Hold on to those optimistic feelings and move forward.
4. Trust in the process. There will be days when you look at yourself in the mirror and your reflection looks the same. Trust me, your progress may not be entirely visible to you yet it is to others. Don’t lose hope and continue, not only for the sake of losing weight or gaining muscles but also for your health.
5. Trust in yourself. When you have failed numerous times in the past, self-trust is damaged. But once you start sticking to your routines, succeeding challenges, and start seeing progress, you will eventually learn to rebuild your trust and faith in yourself. Believe that you can–you will–make it.

Resolutions aren’t only applicable for New Year; you can start to change your life whenever you want. Follow the steps, trust in yourself and in the process.