Psychologist explains the key reasons why New Year’s resolutions fail

2023 is coming to a close, and what a year it's been, eh?

And as we enter 2024, many folks begin to declare their New Year's resolutions that they hope to keep for as long as possible.

Some of the more common resolutions include eating healthier, going to the gym or even cutting down on alcohol.

Whatever it may be, I think the majority of us agree that New Year's resolutions often get broken - some even within the first weeks of a year.

But why is that?

Well, thankfully we have a psychologist on hand to provide us with some answers.

First of all, why do we make New Year's resolutions in the first place?

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Jennifer Kowalski, a licensed professional counselor, told Verywell Mind: "A new year represents a fresh start, and people need something to signal a moment to refresh when something comes to an end, it's an opening to a new beginning."

While it may begin with a lot of optimism and good intentions, it appears a lot of people feel pressured about setting a resolution rather than actually wanting to challenge themselves.

According to a Forbes Health/OnePoll survey conducted in October, 61 percent of respondents said they feel pressured to set a New Year’s resolution.

But why do so many of us fail to stick to them?

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Clinical psychologist Terri Bly states that New Year's resolutions often fail because they are too big of a goal, such as a massive change to eating habits.

Bly told Verywell Mind: "Where we go wrong with New Year's resolutions is there's this idea that it's supposed to be some big, sweeping change, because that sounds kind of sexy.

"[But] as humans we’re not wired to make big, sweeping changes."

Bly also explained that some of us may not actually be ready for change, meaning we end up failing our resolutions.

Any change is hard but often people aren't focusing on the 'why' behind their New Year's goals.

"The pain of not changing has to be greater than the pain of changing for us to really… change. Usually New Year's resolutions are optional things.

"So if we hate doing it, any goal we set is just pain and we're not really sure what the reward is going to be, we’re not going to do it."

Instead, its recommended we set smaller, more attainable goals for the year ahead to avoid getting too overwhelmed, ensure you've thought through your reasoning behind the change in the first place and know exactly what you want to get out of it at the end.