Realistic Resolutions
Let us come to a clear and unquestionable understanding. You do not have to set New Years resolutions. You do not have to earn this new year by achieving some goal or milestone; you are deserving of a happy and healthy new year simply because you exist. Period.
Now, let’s talk about if you do want to use this time of year to mark the beginning of a journey to achieve, make progress, or incite change. A new year is an unquestionably popular landmark, a time for hopefulness and a way to quantify what we wish for ourselves. While you truly can make or start a resolution at any time of year, why not join the masses and set some goals for 2023?
Keep reading to learn about why we set resolutions, insight behind how we tend to fail, and what to do about it.
Who Do We Make New Years Resolutions?
What is it about the New Year that brings hope for such change and why do people make resolutions? The concept of creating New Year's resolutions is so ingrained in U.S. culture that the government even has a list of popular resolutions and resources for achieving them. This list is chock full of good intentions including: drink less alcohol, eat healthy food, get a better education, get a better job, get fit, manage debt, and manage stress.
New Years comes at a time when people look back at the past year and make an effort to improve themselves as the new year begins - in this specific period in history where turmoil seems rampant and change is ever-present, it’s no surprise folks want to set themselves up for good things.
Dennis Buttimer, M.Ed., CEAP, RYT, a facilitator at Thomas F. Chapman Family Cancer and Wellness at Piedmont, shares his thoughts.
“I think most people want a second chance to improve the quality of their lives.The New Year offers a blank slate — an opportunity to get things right.
“When we set New Year’s resolutions, we are utilizing a very important concept called self-efficacy, which means that by virtue of aspiring to a goal and following through on it, I have a sense of control over what's happening in my life.”
Control is not a foreign concept to us in the world of Pilates. We work day after day on improving our stability and control of our bodies and mind and movement, it’s no wonder the community has a particularly affinity for New Years resolutions. However, it’s also not a foreign concept that these resolutions sometimes don’t reach resolve.
Why Your New Year Resolutions Don't Work
The majority of resolution setters give up on their intentions within one to six weeks of starting, and many of these resolutions are repeated year after year. Most people blame their failure to fulfill resolutions on a lack of time, resources, or motivation, or a loss of zeal after starting. Only about 16 percent of people are able to follow through with their resolutions, according to research.
Believe it or not, there is actually a scientific reason why we tend to let our new intentions fizzle out. When you set a resolution and begin to work through it, you trigger a very powerful hormone in the brain called dopamine.
Dopamine helps control the brain’s reward and pleasure centers and regulates emotional responses. Dopamine is also referred too as the “happy hormone” produced through exercise and is responsible for that sunshine feeling you experience after a great Pilates class.
Though dopamine levels are high as you set out to accomplish your resolution, they do eventually drop as the new activity or behavior becomes commonplace and more habitual in your life. While this can seem like a daunting inevitability, with a little structure and accountability to keep you motivated - the behavior you’re engaging in will be less likely to trail off.
How To Keep Your New Years Resolutions
The truth is that there is no red-hot fire poker behind you pushing you to promise a resolution for 2023. With that said, we cannot ignore the blank-slate fresh start feeling we all experience around the first of January. It’s a beautiful part of this life we lead, and taking advantage of it can be incredibly rewarding. Many companies will try to sell you their planners and trackers, folks will try to push you into big commitments that you may feel weary about, but at the end of the day there are three key elements to achieving your goals this new year:
Seek support from others. Ask your friends and family to cheer you on. Let them know your goals and what you would like to accomplish. Share your progress. Celebrate your stick-to-it-iveness.
Create a reward system for yourself. Set short-term goals and reward yourself for meeting them.
Have compassion for yourself. No one is perfect. Instead of beating yourself up, take a deep breath and keep trying. Here are two good words, “begin again.”