Why your New Year’s resolutions flopped and how to reboot them

Do you remember the New Year’s resolutions you made at the beginning of this year? If they’re already long abandoned, you’re in good company — research suggests about 80% of New Year’s resolutions fail by February.

“It’s a shame because often those well-intentioned proclamations have to do with improving our wellbeing,” says Maya Rutstein, Product Architect at digital wellbeing platform, soSerene.

According to Forbes research, the most common theme for New Year’s resolutions in 2023 was improving mental health, and this year the focus was on getting fitter. So, before you give up on yourself for another whole year, let’s take a look at how you can reboot those resolutions into solid goals.

Why New Year’s Resolutions Fail

“To avoid making the same mistakes, we need to look at why our resolutions failed in the first place,” says Rutstein.

“For starters, a New Year’s resolution is often a broad statement of intent that’s inspired by the tradition of setting intentions for the new year but lacks any kind of plan when it comes to how we’re going to achieve success — or what success even looks like. It’s hard to achieve a goal when you don’t have a clear roadmap to follow or any way of measuring your progress.”

That’s not the only reason resolutions fail, though.

“When we set New Year’s resolutions, we’re often in an idealistic state of mind. So, we end up setting overly ambitious goals that become unrealistic once we’re back in our regular routines. This leads to disappointment and discouragement,” says Rutstein.

Other reasons we might fail are lack of support, external pressures such as life changes or stress, or simply losing interest.

How To Make Goals That Stick

A good framework for solid goal-setting is the SMART approach.

“This is designed to take a vague aspiration and turn it into a goal that can be achieved,” says Rutstein. SMART is an acronym that can be unpacked as follows:

Specific: The goal should clearly define what you want to accomplish. It should answer the who, what, where, when, which, and why.

Measurable: There should be a way to measure your progress. This helps you stay on track and motivated.

Achievable: The goal should be realistically attainable with the resources, knowledge, and time you have available.

Relevant: The goal should align with your broader life ambitions and values. It’s important that a goal matters to the person setting it. If you’re trying to achieve something just because someone else said you should, your chances of success will be low.

Time-bound: There should be a clearly defined timeline for the goal. This creates a sense of urgency, which will encourage you to prioritise working towards the goal.