Transforming New Year’s Resolutions: Why They Fail and How the Science of Motivation Can Help

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Tired of setting ambitious New Year’s resolutions every January, only to abandon them by February? Don’t worry, you’re not alone - 80% of resolutions fail in the first 2 months.

But what if you could leverage insights from psychology to set goals that actually stick? Today, I’ll share why typical resolutions fall flat and how using behavioral psychology can help.

The Problem Behind Typical Resolutions

We're all familiar with the cycle - each New Year, we confidently commit to losing weight, saving money, or learning a new skill. Yet somehow our motivation fizzles out faster than the Christmas decorations get packed away. Below are a few reasons typical resolutions fail and what you can do instead to stack the odds in your favor:

They lack underlying motivation

When goals don't align with your identity or tap into motivational psychology, you're left white-knuckling it through willpower alone. Pretty soon, your resolution wanes without a compelling reason to persist. 

In a survey conducted by the American Psychological Association, individuals who could articulate a strong reason behind their resolution were found to be 80% more likely to stick with it throughout the year.

So, instead of “getting fit,” identify why the goal is important to you in the first place, in order to make it more meaningful. If it's not meaningful, choose a goal that is. Another way to infuse meaning is by connecting it to your core values or anchoring it to your identity or the identity of the person you strive to be.

Example: I am someone who exercises for at least 20 minutes a day to feel good and be around longer for my kids.

They have unrealistic expectations

Setting overly ambitious or unrealistic goals can quickly lead to disappointment and frustration. When people set goals that are too challenging, they tend to become overwhelmed and/or discouraged and abandon their goals.

Research published in the Journal of Consumer Research found that individuals who break their resolutions into smaller, manageable steps, are 50% more likely to maintain their commitment.

So, instead of choosing to “eat healthy,” start with small habits that support your long term goal and increase the level of challenge overtime. This allows for consistent growth without overwhelming yourself. 

Example: Create a habit around eating one healthy meal per day. Then add another, and so on.

They only focus on the end goal

Most people overlook the importance of acknowledging incremental progress by being too focused on the end goal, over emphasizing failures and/or downplaying their progress toward a larger goal which undercuts motivation.

A 2018 study in the Journal of Nature Human Behaviour found that celebrating achievements, both big and small, triggers the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and motivation. Celebrating small wins can help keep you more energized and focused on your goals.

Instead of only celebrating your end goal, create little ways to celebrate the small wins along the way. It can be as simple as throwing your hands in the air and saying “F*%# Yeah” for making a good choice when it felt hard, or giving yourself a small gift for being consistent over time.

When you acknowledge these tiny victories, you build confidence and belief in your abilities, while celebrating them activates the reward center in your brain. So, despite how small they may feel at the moment, taking the time to celebrate your little wins can be what leads you to accomplishing the big ones.

Approaching it with an “all or nothing” mentality

Many people struggle with the “perfectionist” mentality and believe that if they can’t follow their resolution perfectly, they might as well give up entirely. Black and white thinking like this can hinder progress.

Instead of giving up or beating yourself up when you make a mistake, focus your efforts on doing your best and trending in the right direction. Two steps forward and one step back is better than not making any progress at all. Eventually, you will not only be farther along, but you’ll have built more confidence and be able to move faster while making fewer mistakes. 

How To Create A Resolution That Sticks

1. Identify a meaningful goal: Infuse as much personal significance into it as possible by identifying reasons why it's important, connecting it to your core values and anchoring it to the identity of the person you strive to become.
   

2. Start small and scale up: Make sure your end goal is realistic, then start by creating micro habits that incrementally build capacity overtime while avoiding overwhelm.
   

3. Celebrate the small wins: Create simple ways to acknowledge the small victories that usually go unnoticed to help build confidence and sustain motivation. You’ll build momentum more quickly and have more fun in the process.
   

4. Focus on trending in the right direction: Instead of trying to be “perfect” and beating yourself up when you’re not, do your best while staying consistent and focus on improving over time.