Every year, millions of people make a New Year’s resolution in the hopes of changing their life for the better. What is ironic is that deep down, many don’t believe it actually works; nevertheless, they talk about it every year.
Let’s unpack what a New Year’s resolution is: it’s a goal that one sets to change his/her current situation.
Why do most new year resolutions fail? There are 4 important factors most people are not aware of. They are self-image, the knowing-doing gap, time management, and goal-setting.
4 Reasons to Change Your Mindset to Reach Your Goals
1) Self-image
The result you are getting is a direct reflection of your internal self-image. Your internal self-image dictates what you think and the limiting beliefs you have. The thoughts you are thinking daily and the belief you have about things dictate your daily actions (or non-action). Do you know anybody who changed their bodies yet a year later they went back exactly where they were? That’s because they didn’t change their self-image. Self-image is like an internal thermostat that wants to go back to the familiar version. In order to change the result you are getting, you need to change your self-image because you can never outperform your self-image. The good news is that you can change it.
2) The Knowing-Doing Gap
Most people already know how to do things better but they don’t know why they are not doing it. Isn’t this statement interesting, yet right on point? Take a moment to think about something you want to see changed. Do you know how to improve it? You probably do.
Now, if you know how to make it better and you want that to happen, why are you not doing it? That’s your knowing-doing gap. Your thinking comes from your conscious mind and your doing (your behavior or doing/not doing things) come from your subconscious. Unless you develop a practice of bridging this gap and changing your mindset, you will not do what you want to make it happen.
3) Time Management
There is no such a thing as time management. So, the first thing you need to do if you want to get the result is to eliminate the language of “I don’t have time.” Nobody has time. Time just is.
When you say “I don’t have time,” what you are really saying is “I am not managing myself well” because anything that you are doing, you are essentially choosing to do it. As long as you are blaming time and others to make something YOU want to happen, it never will. You want to be responsible for managing yourself and prioritize things.
4) Goal-Setting
When you set a goal, you need to make it very clear what it is that you really want. If you can think of the why of your goal, you will be much more inspired by it.
When you set a goal, know that achieving the goal is not the same as wishing or hoping. You can’t be only interested in producing the result because, then, you will do things only when it’s convenient for you.
You need to have a certain commitment in order to change something. In order to change something, you need to change. If you are doing the same way, the result will not change. You probably have a good understanding why “the new year resolutioners” are failing year after year, and how you can do it differently. But here is the pitfall. You understood it while reading this, and yet you will still not do it because of the knowing-doing gap. In order to increase your self-awareness, change your mindset and make it happen, you need a constant repetitive practice of the new self-image with coaching by someone who understands and embodies this concept. You need a structured program to transform your self-image and habit to get a permanent result.
