NO New Year's Resolutions!!!

If you're one of those rare people who actually achieve your New Year's resolution each year, congratulations. Seriously, you are rare indeed. According to U.S. News & World Report, the failure rate for New Year's resolutions is said to be about 80 percent, and most lose their resolve by mid-February. If this is true, it's clear that there is nothing wrong with us; the problem is in the tradition itself.

Why resolutions don't work.

You'll find psychologists and research firms online that cite any number of issues to explain away this massive failure rate of 80 percent. Anything from lack of clarity to setting expectations too high. I agree, but I think there's more to it than that.

One problem is the psychology behind the word itself. Resolution. It's a strong, demanding word. It screams, I must! It's a demand that we place upon ourselves, and there is no room for failure. Yet, failure is pretty much inevitable. Most of us simply don't respond to this word, and when we don't, we feel disappointed in ourselves--even ashamed.

We are unreasonable about resolutions.

Have you ever started off the new year resolving to do something that you've never done before or failed at in the past? Ask yourself if your New Year's resolution coincides with who you are, as well as where you are in life. Are you asking yourself to be more disciplined about fitness by starting an exercise program you don't completely know how to execute or to start a diet that is unrealistic based on your lifestyle? It's likely that your failure has nothing to do with a lack of discipline, it goes deeper than that. Most likely you lack a realistic strategy for change that coincides with your life.

At UNIFY we specialize in creating realistic and actionable goals for clients that meet or exceed expectations. Each client is different - each one of us has unique challenges, schedules, responsibilities and goals. Telling yourself you want to lose weight or get healthier in the new year is great but if you're not realistic about your strategy to reach said goals - using measurable metrics to get there - they are just words and will most likely (80%) end in failure.