So I've been thinking a lot lately about New Year's Resolutions, and why they so often fail. I see it every year in the gym... As soon as January 2nd hits, that place turns into a mad house, a clusterfuck if you will. A clusterfuck full of everyday, hardworking people who have been neglecting their health all year long, especially over the recent holiday season, and are now determined to get in shape and lose weight. But this clusterfuck never lasts. It slowly ebbs away as the winter months go on, finally reaching a low in the Spring and Summer when the weather is nice and people return to their normal lives. Hey, at least it gives people something to focus on other than the harshness of post-holiday Winter.
Of course not everyone fails in their New Year's Resolutions; about 12% of us succeed, according to a 2007 study (
1). That's right... just 12% succeed... 88% fail.
This year, 9 out of 10 of us will fail with our resolutions. And what do we want? No surprise, weight loss tops the list (
2).
Why the horrible success rate? Why do we fail at our goals to begin with? And how can we be successful? After some serious reading and thinking, I've come up with the following: three things you can do to succeed in your New Year's resolution this year!
