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From year to year, it’s always the same. So many people see the beginning of the year as an opportunity for a fresh start, whether to start a new hobby, a training program or finally make a dream a reality. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that!

Unfortunately, the desire for a change ends as suddenly as it starts. Here, I explain why it is so common and what to do when your New Year’s resolutions have failed.

To understand why you might have given up on your New Year’s resolutions by now, it’s important to understand why those resolutions emerged in the first place.

More often than not, it might be caused by pressure from society. And herein lies the problem. Your decisions might be rushed because everyone, including yourself, expects you to start something new.

Can you remember how often you’ve been asked at the end of December and the first week of January what your New Year’s resolutions are? I bet it’s been a lot! At some point, you are convinced to say something. When being rushed and under pressure, it’s easy to answer with something from the top of your head, even if that’s what you genuinely wish for yourself. However, it’s not easy to come up with a sustainable plan for how you are actually going to achieve your goals.

If you feel stuck in a cycle of failed New Year’s resolutions, try to break it with the following tips.

Understand what you really want and why

To achieve your goal, you need to understand why you want it. Losing some weight or building a physique is just an abstract goal. However small or big your goal is, you will hardly reach it if you don’t know what drives you. To find your why, just ask yourself.

With each answer, dig deeper and ask again, “Why?” based on the previous answer, and so on. Ask as many times as needed until you feel that’s what was truly hidden behind.

Set a realistic goal

Knowing your “Why” makes it easier to define your goal. Let’s say you want to lose weight so that you feel more confident again, and with it, you hope to get the spark back into your relationship.

Inform yourself about the realistic timeline for losing weight. How much weight do you think you need to lose to feel that way? How much time do you want to invest in this? 

Or maybe you also want to go out more often with your partner? How often?

Be realistic and as specific with your goal as you can.

Break down the goal into actionable steps

Now, let’s break your goal into smaller chunks. Let’s say you want to lose 15 lbs until the summer when you go on vacation, and you’d like to go out with your partner once a week.

Want to lose 15 lbs until the summer:

• It means you should lose about 0.5 lbs per week, which is very realistic.
• To lose these 0.5 lbs, you need to eat in a caloric deficit and ideally train with weights, too.
• You can calculate how many calories to eat so that you stay in a caloric deficit.
• You should track your meals.
• You should train at least two times per week.
• And if you are not sure how to do it all, you can hire a coach who will help you with everything.

Want to go out with your partner once a week:

• Plan it into your calendar.
• Arrange a babysitter if needed.
• Make the time into your schedule.

It’s just an example, but you get the idea. Break down your wishes and goals to the smallest ones so that you can go through them step by step. It will be less overwhelming for you and help you stay on track.

Take an action

There is no sense in defining actionable steps if you are not taking action. If you want to lose weight, you have to pay attention to what you eat and go to the gym. You can’t expect to get the results you wish to only by writing them down on a piece of paper.

Or, if you want to go out with your partner more often, you both have to make time in your schedule. We never get more free time but less stress and obligations. We have to be proactive and make time for what we want to happen.

Repeat

The key to success is consistency. Taking action is great, but you get the best results only by doing the job day by day. Don’t get discouraged if you don’t see the results right away. In changing our physiques and in any other endeavors, it’s hard to see the little progress made every day. Trust me, all your effort will be well worth it, and the work you put in will pay off as long as you stay consistent.

It also means that if you have already given up on your New Year’s resolution, it’s not the end. Continue there, where you stopped, and you will be rewarded.