Why Resolutions Often Fail - How to Set Goals that Stick!
Written by Jim Levesque, Head Coach at Grit Endurance. Learn more about Jim’s background here!
Why do most New Year’s resolutions fail by the end of the 2nd week of January? There are a number of reasons, but in my opinion, the most important is that most people’s “why” is not stronger than their “cost”. For us to stick to a habit or lifestyle change, the goal we are setting or the lifestyle change we are aspiring to must be more important to us than the cost of getting there. The cost could be a range of things, like mental or physical discomfort, waking up earlier than we want, spending time focusing on something we’re not used to, or just change in general. Whatever it is, it’s critical that you have a goal or desired outcome that matters enough to you to stick out the cost, especially in the beginning when change is the hardest. If the reward doesn’t outweigh the cost, the change just isn’t going to stick. So let’s focus on some keys to successful goal setting, and how to make them meaningful enough to you in order to inspire change:
Dream Big - Start with the big goal in mind. It could be a goal or change that is several months away, or even years away. This is where you shouldn’t hold back and should aim for the stars! This could be finishing your first triathlon, Ironman or half marathon, or could be as simple as exercising for 30 minutes, 6 days per week!
Build a Plan - The big dream is usually too abstract and far away to inspire change on a daily basis, so now you need to build a plan that takes you from where you are today to where you want to be. This might be something you are comfortable doing, but if you don’t have the expertise in whatever area you are focusing on, reach out to a professional in that field for help!
Create Tangible Goals - Now that you have a big goal and have started to build a plan of how to get there, you need to break it down into simple and straightforward daily or weekly goals, that are real and tangible. This is where having your strong “why” comes in. For example, even though someone might not want to wake up and get to the pool by 6am on a cold January morning, if they know that it is a key aspect of getting to where they want to be, and they truly believe that, they are much more likely to get out of bed!
Don’t Expect Perfection - I’ve coached well over 100 athletes in 10 years as an endurance sports coach, and I can count the number of people who completed every workout on one hand. It just doesn’t happen. Success isn’t about perfection, it’s about consistency, so aim to be consistent, but don’t beat yourself up when life gets in the way.
Reward Yourself - Did you hit your goal for the week? Then TREAT YOURSELF! Get your favorite latte, go out to eat for lunch; whatever it is, celebrate the smaller successes in your journey! This goes back breaking the bigger goal or reward into smaller and more manageble chunks, so you can see and celebrate progress regularly!
Hopefully this helps you start thinking about how to set some goals for 2025 or beyond and how to really make those happen. As always, our mission at Grit Endurance is to ENHANCE LIVES THROUGH ENDURANCE SPORTS, so if we can be of help, let us know!