Why Your New Year’s Resolutions are Doomed

Why Your New Year’s Resolutions are Doomed 2017 images next

Why Your New Year’s Resolutions are Doomed 2017 images

It’s that time of the year again when everyone has the bright idea to make New Year’s resolutions.

Don’t you just feel warm and fuzzy saying the words “New Year’s resolution?” It almost seems like you are doing something about the things you want to change in your life, and you only made noises with your mouth.

The fact is that these resolutions suck.

The premise is awesome though folks. Making positive change is what we should all be doing each and every day. And a small percentage of people do actually make big changes on January 1 each new year.

  • They lose weight.

  • They get their financial asses in check.

  • They improve their relationships.

  • Some even take on a brand new life in a new part of the world.

Whoa…let me correct that. No one makes these changes on the first day of the new year. They may change the direction they’re headed, but real change can take the entire year to see real results.

An entire year? That’s right buddy. 365 days.

That means it could be 2018 before you lose that 50 pounds. Or it could be 2019 before you pay off that damn car you should have never bought.

Why did I buy that truck when I don’t even like leaving the house? Good question for myself.

So here we find the biggest stumbling block with New Year’s resolutions. They take time.

And guess what no one has here at the end of 2016? Freaking time!

Or so we claim. Everyone you talk to seems to parrot the same phrase. “I’m always so busy.”

Or the ever popular, “I just work all the time.”

Can we all be this busy that we can’t be bothered to go to the gym or take eight hours to see why we are living paycheck to paycheck?

It is either self-delusion, or our society is too jacked up to have any hope as a whole.

As you may have guessed by now, this smartass believes we have plenty of time for resolutions.

We just spend it very foolishly.

It takes hard work to lose weight, but more than anything else it takes time. People are so busy they won’t even take time to write out a schedule to start working out. Much less actually spend four hours a week walking or going to the gym.

And writing out a meal plan or a budget? When the hell are you supposed to do that? Not in the middle of a Netflix marathon that you set up for ten hours on Sunday!

Ludicrous!

Now, I hope I’ve got you good and offended. Maybe even a little pissed off.

That’s how you make resolutions happen. By getting mad….not at this writer.

But at yourself.

You took time to gain that weight. You took time to jack up your finances.

I know. I’ve done the same.

And it will take time to fix these things, no matter what you plan on correcting in 2017.

Here’s the good news, though. You only need to do one thing to make all your New Year’s resolutions happen.

That one thing is very hard. Most of you won’t do it once. Much less on a weekly basis.

But for those of you willing to do more than run that mouth about all the changes you will make in 2017, here’s the one step that will inch you closer to the change you want to be.

Set aside time for the changes.

Simple enough.

The biggest stumbling block to fitness routines, getting your career back on track, or working on your family life is the perceived lack of time.

That means that no diet will help you if you don’t set aside time to focus on your eating habits and exercise. Giving your attention to other shiny objects like your Facebook feed will keep you fat and not very sassy I’m afraid.

That also means that Dave Ramsey or Suze Orman won’t save your ass from financial destruction if all you do is listen to them while driving. It’s imperative that you set aside time to do your checkbook and budget on a regular basis.

Dave is a motivational guy, but he’s not gonna reach through the radio and organize your business receipts.

Hey, enough preaching. If you just want the warm feeling of talking about resolutions, please continue.

But if you are one of the few who are serious about change in the new year, decide that you will find time to work on yourself. Find that time by stepping back from the momentum of everyday life and thinking about how you currently spend your time.

If you find no wasted time that can be converted to productive things like taking care of your health, then maybe you are already doing the best you can.

For most of us though, there are plenty of activities that do nothing positive for our lives, that can be cut out to make room for real changes.

Make time. Make changes.