Why New Year’s Resolutions Are Useless

Dec 27, 2023 | goal setting, mental health, personal development, professional development, stress

Woman's hands in the dirt, planting something

The world is abuzz with talk of New Year’s Resolutions. This is the year we’ll:

  • Get in shape
  • Make more money
  • Stop smoking
  • Get greeting cards out on time
  • Get organized
  • Etc. Etc.

Sure it is.

I don’t mean to sound negative, but you’ve probably been making New Year’s resolutions for years now. And to quote Dr. Phil… “How’s that working for you?”

I’ve never been a fan of resolutions. I’ve always looked at January as a time to set new goals for the year rather than just “resolving” to be different. Of course, if we set goals, we can set SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-Bound), and now we are even closer to rockin’ out in the new year.

But wait… I set goals last year. Some of them I hit, some of them I didn’t. Sure, that could be attributed to the fact that I experienced 7 of the top 10 life stressors last year, but I still managed to publish a book and do some other cool stuff. So why, then, didn’t I hit all those goals?

How to Achieve Goals

A few weeks ago, I had a realization. I didn’t hit some of those goals because I didn’t do anything to work towards them. Yes, I do believe in putting what you want out into the Universe (feel free to substitute that word with your higher power of choice) and manifesting what you want. However, I’m pretty sure you don’t just wish something into existence. You actually have to get up off your butt and do something to make it happen. And, you have to do something EVERY DAY.

Habits, folks. I’m talking about habits. The good, the bad, and the ugly. We all have them.

What is it that you do every single day? Most importantly, is it leading you to the outcome you want? For example, I’d like vibrant health. I’ve got a few habits that support my goal, like scraping my tongue and drinking hot lemon water every morning, drinking plenty of water during the day, going to bed at a reasonable time each night, flossing, etc. I also have many habits that DO NOT support vibrant health, like eating chocolate when I get stressed, mindless snacking, eating enough pasta for a family of 4, not getting enough exercise, etc.

So this year, it occurred to me that if I wanted to reach my goals (a certain number of speaking engagements, write another book, vibrant health, hit an income goal, and donate a specific amount to animal rescue), I was going to have to identify the habits that would lead to achieving these goals. Habits may not be sexy, but they are certainly effective.

My Habit Practice

Plant mom that I am, I decided to create a habit chart inspired by my leafy children. To do this, create a chart with three columns and then use the following headers:

  1. Plant
  2. Weed
  3. Water

(Note: I’ve also created a fillable PDF for you to download if you’d like)

Your Plant column is going to include all of the habits that you need to create in order to reach your goals. Sticking with the Vibrant Health example, I need to have cut-up veggies in the fridge, so I grab that instead of chocolate and chips. I’ll also institute stretching every morning and night and a 10-minute meditation during the day.

Next, we move to the Weed column. These are all of the habits you need to STOP doing in order to reach your goals. For me, mindless snacking, ignoring my “I’m full” signal and continuing to shove food in my mouth, and eating sugar every day.

Finally, our last column is Water. These are the habits that you already have in place and just need to continue. As I mentioned earlier, I’m great at drinking plenty of water, flossing, etc. I’ll continue that into the new year.

Now, it’s your turn. Stop worrying about New Year’s Resolutions. Set your goals. Make sure they are SMART. Once you know what you want to achieve in 2024, it’s time to figure out what daily/weekly habits will get you there. Create your chart, (or download a fillable PDF here) and make this the year that you reach your goals and achieve your dreams.

What’s your number one goal this year?

About the Author

Sheryl Green is a Mental Health speaker and author who works with individuals and organizations to establish healthy boundaries to improve relationships, communication, and well-being. Her mission is to make the world a better place… one boundary at a time. Learn more about her entertaining and illuminating programs or contact her at 702.885.4309.