We are now in February and truthfully how many of you have stuck to the resolutions you made at New Years? New research from a leading voucher code website suggests that 38% of Brits have already abandoned their New Year’s Resolutions hardly a month into the New Year.
Investigating the longevity of keeping up with resolutions made for 2016 by Brits My Voucher Codes found the majority of people gave up within the first two weeks of January. It’s the same every year for many, New Year’s Resolutions are paved with good intentions, from stopping smoking and drinking to losing weight or saving money. But the research shows people cannot stick to many of them. The top 5 resolutions people make:
- Lose weight
- Stop smoking
- Eat healthier
- More family time
- Go to the gym
Health is the top issue for many people, after Christmas I find the most popular resolution is to lose weight and it seems like the research matches up. The festive period is a time when lots of people may eat and drink a little bit more than usual, choosing foods which may not be the healthiest. Which is probably why eating healthier is also up on the list, feeling the excess of Christmas and then we have going to the gym, exercise is key to being healthier along with making better food choices, so it makes sense these feature in the top 5.
The research from My Voucher Codes showed that 38% of people had abandoned their New Year’s resolutions and whilst 34% said they were sticking to their resolutions and then 28% had given up on some of the resolutions they had made.
There are of course many reason why you would not be able to stick to the resolutions, the research showed again the top 5:
- No motivation – 38%
- No time – 25%
- Too hard – 17%
- Outside influences – 15%
- Too expensive – 10%
BlogHer, investigated further and provided helpful tips on sticking with your resolutions. Mine follow a simple 4 P plan, which you can read below.
Plan
The most important part of planning is having a goal, so why you are making resolutions. An end goal, or a number of different achievable goals along the year will help you stick to your resolutions. By breaking down your resolutions in to smaller goals you will find this to be less daunting and ultimately more achievable and it should help you find it easier to stick to. It will also mean you can plan in time (one of the reasons why people give up).
Prepare
With anything you need to prepare before you jump into something new and even unknown, even if you’re starting again with fitness and think you already know what you’re doing. Even from simply what days you’re setting aside for exercise, what sort of workouts you want/need to do and what other aspects need to be taken into consideration. It’s also good to plan in costs, one of the 5 reasons for giving up was expense, so work out your costs beforehand, making sure you can afford them and even look into free options for fitness. There are plenty out there, Pinterest is a fantastic resource to look at free exercise tips.
Proactive
You should always think positively about your resolutions, be proactive when it comes to achieving them. So instead of thinking; ‘Urgh I have to go to the gym’ aim to be ‘Yey I get to go to the gym’. This might be hard the few first couple of times, but you will be surprised how quickly you start to enjoy fitness.
Payment
Okay so you’re not going to pay yourself for achieving your goals and sticking to your resolutions, but it’s nice to have a reward. Improved health maybe a reward but sometimes it’s nice to have something tangible to show to also make you feel better for achieving what you set out to do. It’s the carrot or stick theory! This will help you keep motivated.
