“New Year, new me” is a popular phrase around this time of year. We all think a new year brings hope and motivation to rid us of our bad habits and create better ones. But why do we give up on our resolutions so quickly? 

According to Jonathan Alpert, a psychotherapist and author of “Be Fearless: Change Your Life in 28 Days,” there are three main reasons New Year’s resolutions do not work out.  

1. Your resolution isn’t specific enough

Alpert says that resolutions that aren’t specific enough tend to send us up for failure. For example, “losing weight” as a resolution lacks ways to mark progress and will likely fail to keep you motivated. 

2. You aren’t framing them positively

Resolutions tend to have a negative tone. By framing them negatively, you are starting out with a poor mindset and most likely won’t be able to complete the challenge you are setting yourself up for. Instead, try to pose your resolutions in a positive manner, and keep a positive mindset with your goals. 

3. Your resolution isn’t about you

A major obstacle with resolutions is the fact that they usually don’t reflect what you actually want.  Goals need to be set individually, and not influenced by your peers. Take action of what you truly want and work towards those goals in a healthy manner. 

Less than 10% of people successfully complete their resolutions. Not only do we set ourselves up for failure with these unrealistic goals, but we also take on the burden of “failing” when we can’t complete unreachable goals. 

While there are millions of tips online on how to keep your resolutions going, there are reasons why resolutions should not be a regular part of the new year. For many, changing our calendars is a fresh start and a magical way to fix all of our problems. But the euphoria of the new year usually fades by the end of January, leaving people unmotivated and disappointed. 

New Year’s resolutions can be completed by highly motivated individuals, but they usually have a heavier impact than just losing weight or cutting off toxic people. It also asks the question of why one can’t always be completing goals, instead of trying to fit it all into one time span. Instead of setting timely goals, we try to fit all of our goal into a single year, sometimes even just a few months. New year’s resolutions teach us to try and make goals each year, due to it being a new year. But why not complete goals just to complete goals? By setting positive goals that are realistic and achievable, we are better able to work on our desires. 

A new year is not the quick fix to all of our problems and less-than-desirable habits. Turning a new page on our calendars isn’t going to make our problems disappear. Instead, try to work on motivation, and put less pressure on the time period you are giving yourself. Goals created in negativity are bound to fail.