Confessions of a Six Figure Professional Blogger

Why New Years Resolutions Suck [For Some]

December 30, 2009 | Ramblings

We all do it. We come to a new year with high hopes. We’re going to turn over a new year and take the world by storm – next year.

new_year_resolutions Then, the year goes by. Perhaps there was a momentary burst in activity in January. The obligatory visits to the gym. Maybe write a few more blog posts than usual. But then it settles back into the status quo.

Come December and – oh hum – life looks pretty much the same as it did last year. But, dammit, next year…. next year is going to ROCK! This time you mean it!

Sound familiar?

The First Problem – Timing

It is completely unnecessary to wait until the calendar year changes over to make changes and do productive things in your life. So, why wait?

Time is just a continuous stream of arbitrary nothingness. Seriously, time is really in the eye of the beholder. It is not a fixed quantity. And it keeps going. The fact that the calendar flips from December to January means nothing except for the significance we ourselves assign to it.

With that in mind, why wait? If you want to accomplish things in life, for God sakes, don’t put it off until “next year”. Start now!

The Second Problem – Ourselves

When we make resolutions, it is just more shiznit on top of a pile of last year’s shiznit.

* Yes, “Shiznit” is a word. Snoop Dogg said so. ;)

In other words, you made goals for yourself. Some of those goals may have failed, but they are still your goals. Here you come with a new year and more goals. Those new goals don’t overwrite the old goals. They just pile on. Yet, we know that those old goals failed. The new goals will probably fail too, right?

You know what we say about people who commit the same mistakes over and over again and expect different results, right?

That’s right – they’re crazy.

So, why do so many people do this every year?

Obviously, hoping isn’t enough. Something has to change.

In order to get something you’ve never had, you have to do something you’ve never done.

Most people are apathetic about New Years Resolutions because of their past failures. And for those people, new years resolutions kinda suck.

My viewpoint is that the answer to that is to change something. Do something you’ve never done. As Nike says, “Just Do It.”

The only person who can REALLY deny you something is yourself. Think about that for a moment. If somebody tells you you can’t do something, what power do they REALLY have? If you really think about it, you’ll find they have no power at all. The only power they have over you is that power you’ve GIVEN them.

So, don’t get reasonable. Take your power back. Do something different than you’ve ever done in order to get different results in 2010.

Next year, resolutions won’t suck. They’ll mean something.

Tomorrow, I’m going to share with you a practical strategy for goal accomplishment. This is something I want to share with you as we wrap up 2009 and head into a new year. So, I’ll see you tomorrow, right here on the blog. :)

If you enjoyed this article, you might also like...

  1. Do You Have Any Blogging New Years Resolutions?
  2. Don’t Fail (Again) At Your New Years Resolutions
  3. Ten Years In The Military Taught Me [Blogging]

Learn The Real Story On Blogging As a Business...

  • Get immediate FREE access to the Six Figure Blogger Blueprint
  • Get exclusive stuff NOT available on this blog.
  • Get the latest updates from the weird Risley man who runs this site.

Enter email:

  • Yes I also set the goals and resolution secretly and than divide them according to months and weeks. I just want to make them as much as practical so that they can be achieved.

    At the end of every week I sit and judge my position and and at the end of every month I monitor closely where I am.

    Believe me guys if you will do it in same fashion than you will be able to get more success.
  • Carla Solori
    I'm a little bit older, a little bit whiter, a little bit like an easy saver, a little bit rounder, but still none the wiser.
  • Artikelnya menarik sekali, tentunya akan membawa banyak manfaat kepada kita semua yang membacannya.
    Oh ya sekalian deh mau ngucapin "selamat tahun baru 2010" yach buat anda semua pengunjung blog ini, semoga mendapatkan banyak rejeki dan sukses selalu karir ngeblognya.
    Salam sukses ber-bisnis internet dari Blog Buat Bisnis. Segera mantapkan langkah anda di tahun baru ini dan songsonglah masa depan yang lebih baik, anda pasti bisa..!!

    Yuk mampir ke blog saya untuk mendapatkan kenang-kenangan akhir tahun.
  • David, I've recently found your blog through Beyond Blogging and I must say, I really love your blog!

    I certainly agree with you on resolutions. I've always said those that make resolutions for the new year are simply lying to themselves and they're never going to stick. If someone wants to 'quit smoking' or start blogging, don't wait, grab your marbles and just do it.
  • I never make New Years resolutions
    either because I believe in making new
    goals throughout the entire year. If you make
    just one goal, it will be hard for you to
    accomplish it because you will have too many
    distractions
  • Great points. People only think about what they want. They don't think about HOW to get there or WHAT MIGHT GET IN THE WAY, including themselves. People need to be thinking about what skills they need, what barriers they face, and even what help they need to get in working on their goals / resolutions.

    I expand upon that on my blog post from today here: http://jamieflinchbaugh.com/2009/12/forget-the-...
  • <totally offtopic rant>

    "You know what we say about people who commit the same mistakes over and over again and expect different results, right?

    That’s right – they’re crazy."

    Will someone please get this memo to Barack Obama?

    John Maynard Keynes was WRONG! Qualitative easing doesn't work!

    It didn't work in the 1930s, it didn't work in the 1990s when Japan tried it, and it won't work today.

    Our government still hasn't gotten that memo. We're still trying the same strategies that haven't ever worked, and running up a huge deficit while doing so.

    </totally offtopic rant>
  • I don't make new years resolutions. I make intentions - it really helps me stay on the right track.

    Most importantly, I don't wait till the new year. I start right away. My blog is an example, I was going to start it on the first - but decided, why put it off? So I started it right then and there.

    Putting it off just doesn't help.
  • You are right. There is no point in delaying something what you can right away. This also inspires us. Delaying it will only make lazy.
  • Nicely put. As posts on Resolutions dominate the blogsphere, I totally agree with our biggest obstacle is our SELF! My own posts on resolutions was more about connecting the dots. The dominate definition for resolutions has to do with pixels on a computer screen. I started my goals (Good Orderly Actions Leading to Success) back in August and September to be prepared when the ball drops!
  • We all set New Year's Resolutions and by Jan 7 we have all forgotten them,,lol

    This si the same for starting a diet and saying " on monday I will start since it's first day or week" Instead why not start that min? Why put time on it when you can do it now, right now!

    You don't need a new year to start a diet, write more posts, look for a better job, etc...
  • Around this time of the year, people start talking about making resolutions. Yes it is true that usually they do not work. I feel that the reason why people talk about their own resolutions, is that they want to feel that they are going to start all over and remove the quilt of not doing it before. Its like "Ok, this time I WILL keep to it".

    I do not make any resolutions, mainly because I plan what I have to do all the time so I kind of don't see the point of making a year plan. But keeping to the plan is something I need to work on so I am really looking forward to your strategy for goal accomplishment.
  • Dave's not just a pretty face is he! 'More like pretty wise.

    Time will happen; no matter what. As time ticks away, your life begins and ends. - It's just a microscopic event in a massive expanse of happening. What you do with your life will determine whether or not you make any impact in the continuous time-stream, whether your life is fulfilled or unfulfilled.

    It's going to happen anyway; so make it happen with lights, fireworks, and a legacy: Leave a mark that's going to make a better tomorrow.
  • It's incredibly easy to write things down, or even more so just make them in your head...I do it every year! Whether I keep to resolutions is another matter, but surely if they are positive changes and resolutions, if you keep to them for just a day it's better than nothing?
  • Well they say the definition of insanity is doing something over and over again while expecting a different result!

    Clearly that is not the way to achieve a successful end to your resolutions or any goal for that matter. Great advice David! I'll admit, I've fallen into that trap as well and yes it takes some effort to get out of your funk, but when you do the results are simply amazing!
  • I've got several solutions for these problems

    1. I don't make any resolutions at all usually
    2. If I DO make a resolution, I make it something really achievable, something that won't require to spend immense amount of energy and time to accomplish
    3. I don't make NEW YEAR resolutions, I make ANYTIME resolutions on, let's say, 23 april that by the end of the year I will make it routine going to the gym 3 times a week and just doing something there instead of walking around and doing nothing

    So, far this kind of approach and strategy worked at least partly, I won't say I accomplished everything I intended this way, but at least I didn't fail in all my decisions.
    That way I don't pile things, some of them remain on the pile, but then I simply make a resolution about them again until I accomplish them too.

    Small steps - whole marathon over time.
  • I agree with you David. Man I just agree with everyone. Maybe it's a sign of me picking good blogs to read. I don't make new years resolutions, because I'm already on the path I want to be on.

    I'm going to rock 2010 completely. Most people set goals and intentions they don't really like, such as making more money or whatever. That's boring. Pick something you're passionate about, like starting a blog/business/website on a topic you love. So what if it fails? At least you'll have fun while doing it and learn something.

    Do it now! ;)

    P.S. David, how do you get images to look good in your RSS feed?
blog comments powered by Disqus