Ah, the New Year’s Resolution, a series of promises we make to ourselves each year after an indulgent holiday season. The inherent optimism of wide sweeping changes in your life coming from a new year at the end of today’s date is something widely celebrated, but rarely followed through on.

In fact, according to Forbes more than 80% of Resolutions made each year end up faltering in February. So, what resolutions are people making that they just can’t stick to? Well, it seems that the most popular goals year over year are related to self-improvement. From reducing alcohol intake, improved focus on mental health and exercise – it seems that people just want to be better.

There are infinite resources available to us to help stick to these goals. We have habit trackers on our phones, infinite self-help books on the market and bullet journal YouTube tutorials galore. With that in mind, why do we keep failing? There are a few reasons why for us to posits:

1. Your Goals Started Too Big

Say your New Year’s Resolution is to wake-up earlier, you want in to that 5:00 AM Club and this is the year to do it. With the best intention, you set that alarm for 4:45 AM (we love to hit snooze at least once) and hit the hay. But, what time did you actually go to bed? Was it 9:00 PM, or was it closer to 11:30 PM after one last Outlook check and some Netflix? Small and incremental change is the way to cement your goals in the New Year. Begin with an earlier bedtime and a 7:00 AM alarm, slowly shave 15 minutes off from there and before you know it – you’ll be up with the best of them.

2. You Don’t Have Anyone to Hold You Accountable

The bigger the change to your life, the more important it is to have people in your life that are there to remind you of your goals and help shift your focus. With no one watching, it is that much easier to opt for DoorDash over a home cooked meal. The more people you share your goals with (via social media, close friends, family, etc.) the easier it is to hold on to your new lifestyle changes. Fundamental life changes don’t have to happen alone in a vacuum!

3. You Left Room to Fail (And Fail Again)

Though this may seem counter-intuitive, the fundamental notion of some New Year’s Resolutions will always set you up to fail. For example, you (like 1 in 7 Americans) are in the process of a Dry January. For 31 one days, you are saying no to every beer, cocktail and class of wine presented to you. Then, your best friend gets a promotion and it’s time for a celebratory dinner (with bubbly of course) and…you break. That glass of champagne fractured your Dry January and now having that glass of wine after work on Tuesday feels a whole lot less taboo (I mean, you’ve already technically drank so what’s another glass, right)? The all sweeping mentality of resolutions with no flexibility compound the impending doom of failure. Instead of saying, “I resolve to eliminate alcohol, carbs and sleeping in for 2022” try, “I intend to reduce my alcohol intake, focus on healthier meal choice and strive for an early start to my mornings”. This simple shift from resolution to intention helps you escape the failure mindset so you can try, try and try again until it sticks.

Now, knowing the above may make holding on to your New Year’s Resolution seem just that much harder. But, have no fear! It isn’t too late to break up your goal, bring in an accountability partner or shift your goals to intentions. These small changes will jumpstart your resolutions and might just even put you in the 20% success category! To reinforce your best intentions, explore a membership with us at The Shop Workspace. For a limited time in Salt Lake City, we will do you one better with a free month of membership to the new Rebel House Shop location. Happy goal crushing!