New Year’s resolutions always fail and therefore are inherently depressing. Instead, make a list of your accomplishments in 2018–you’ll be surprised at how long and satisfying it is. And then set some achievable goals, broken down into doable tasks. It’s psychologically smarter.
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The psychology behind New Year’s resolutions is faulty. Resolutions can’t lead to sustainable behavior change because they are not constructed in a way that harnesses motivation and turns it into action and change. We’re all bound to fail to lose that weight, get to inbox zero, exercise more, stop drinking so much and feel more gratitude. And because resolutions don’t work, they are inherently depressing.
Make New Year’s resolutions and you set yourself up to feel like a failure, a loser, a lazy person. And paradoxically, because you fail so quickly and thoroughly (have you ever resolved to lose weight and then pigged out five hours later at a New Year’s Day football watching party?) you easily give up trying to change.
New Year’s resolutions typically involve one of three wishes. The wish to stop avoiding something (getting rid of all the junk in your inbox). The wish to stop doing something that makes you feel good (eating, drinking, smoking). Or the wish to start doing something that doesn’t come naturally to you (journal, express gratitude, exercise).
