Why New Year Resolutions Don’t Work Anymore

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“Isn’t it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?” — L.M. Montgomery

It’s all we ever hope for every single day of the year, and unconsciously fixate the changing point on New Year’s Eve – the moment we’ll get a clean slate; the deadline for forgetting all past mistakes and starting over. As the new year nears, you find yourself linger on a beer longer, take an extended walk, search for success anecdotes, and some even ask a pal or two, “what are your new year resolutions”.

I know I did. As far back as my teen years, I recall I often start out with very expansive ideas like to save the world, to make the world a better place for children, or to save every single stray cat on the street. It often look something like this list.

As I enter my professional world, I even manage to narrow down my resolutions to accomplishable goals like making changes to my attitude, appearance, and how to be more productive at work. Things like this tweet used to energize me, and I would be gung ho about it dragging others along with me.

And after say a month, the energy and drive wears off. The bright shiny new resolutions didn’t have that glitter anymore; they no longer pump up the adrenaline or motivate me to go the extra mile, to do the accomplishable, let alone the unimaginable.
Then it’s time to revert to the same old dreary routine, and before long I’m back to my old self even though my inner self would scream and protest against this lack of enthusiasm and commitment to my new year resolutions. The war inside my mind looks something like this:

But do I follow what my mind heeds? Not really.
To date I’ve known anyone who’ve followed through their New Year resolution. The “new year, new me” adage doesn’t work anymore in today’s fast pace environment. Everyday poses a new challenge, you have to meet it head on, and if you slack you lose immediately. The result is instantaneous, and believe me you feel the punch in so many ways – emotionally, financially, at work and at home. It’s hard to follow resolutions which you’ve made in another time and frame of mind.
So what do I do instead?

I commit to the resolution to not be affected by the forces that drag me down. It can be college stress blues, work, relationships, boss or even the place I live in. Eliminate them all, and commit to what I want and can achieve each day. I have a new resolution each day, rather than focus them all on a particular day of the year. And guess what? Taking one resolution at a time, it becomes easier to follow through!
What are your New Year Resolutions?