Why You Should Not Set a New Year’s Resolution

Happy Monday, lovelies!

All too often people start talking about New Year’s resolutions this time of year, but the thing is, I don’t think you need to make one. This year, why not read why you shouldn’t start a New Year’s resolution and do something different instead? I’m sharing a few reasons why you don’t need to get all worried about a resolution and instead you can try something else this New Year.

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Wrong Motivation

If you’re making plans to resolve to accomplish something that you’ve never been able to accomplish before, then you’re focused on the wrong thing. Whatever makes you think that you’ll stick to this resolution this year when you never have all of the years before?

Making a resolution simply because it’s that time of year again, doesn’t make you more apt to succeed in your New Year’s resolution.  Setting a New Year’s Resolution for the wrong motivation such as just because it’s that time of the year, is one reason why you shouldn’t set a New Year’s resolution.

Focus on Short Term

Another reason why you shouldn’t set a New Year’s resolution is that you’re too focused on the short term. The best way to say this is that your New Year’s resolutions tend to be fleeting in thought versus something that you’ve actually taken some time to think about and plan to use as  New Year’s resolution.

Making a resolution simply because it sounds like a good way to make a quick fix in your life, is one of the reasons why you shouldn’t set a New Year’s resolution. You will not achieve your resolution if you’re simply focused on something short term that’s mostly a quick thought.

Bad Time of the Year

January is a really difficult month for most people. You are just getting out of the expensive holiday season, times are financially difficult in this first quarter of the year and you’re probably experiencing colder than normal temperatures due to the winter season (unless you’re in the other side of the world, like me). I don’t know about you but I feel like setting a New Year’s resolution in January simply sounds like a recipe for failure!

Making a resolution during the colder months as well as the month following some major holidays puts you at a higher risk of failure. When you set a New Year’s resolution and fail, it simply starts your year off with a negative (and stressful) experience.

What to do Instead of Setting a New Year’s Resolution?

If you truly want to set some goals to achieve this New Year, then try taking a more realistic approach with setting realistic goals. Think about something that you want to accomplish in life that will make you happier. Think about something you want to accomplish in business that will make you feel more successful. Focus on specific areas in your life that you truly want to work on, and then set some goals for the New Year.

 

Setting achievable, realistic goals for yourself is much more plausible than setting a fleeting New Year’s Resolution that won’t motivate you personally or keep you inspired to hustle and try harder.

I invite you to take some time this week to think about why you’ve failed in the past with New Year’s Resolutions and work towards setting goals this year. Just remember to keep them SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timely).

TOOLS FOR GOAL SETTING

In the past few years I have tried different planners and tools to get more into goal setting and less into resolutions. These are the ones I have liked the most but feel free to try what you think might work best for your particular situation and/or leave me a comment with any other suggestions!

• The Day Designer: From all the planners I have tried throughout the years, this is by far, my favorite one. Not only do they have the cutest covers (I chose the “Antigua” design for 2019) and different sizes, but they are also super sturdy and each page comes with a dedicated space for every important aspect of your daily life. You can see more details in this post. 
• PowerSheets: This is not really a planner but more of an intentional goal planner by Cultivate What Matters. It comes with goal action ideas, monthly/weekly/daily tending lists, relationship tending, cultivating gratitude and so much more.
  This will be my second year using it and I love it! If you follow me on IG, you probably saw my story showing how I excited I was when I received my 2019 edition!Lara Casey is such an inspiring soul and I highly recommend reading her blog posts for more inspiration.
• Passion Planner: If you’d rather have a roadmap for goal setting, then this is the one you want to get. It also comes with motivational quotes, weekly and daily focus spaces, sketch pages and a gratitude log.  There are even academic and undated versions if you prefer those. However, if you have a big handwriting (like myself), you might want to go a different route, specially on the daily pages.