New Year's Resolutions & Why They Fail

New Year’s Resolutions.

Everyone is talking about them at this time of year. But did you know that only 9% of Americans keep their New Year’s Resolutions?

9%.

The Main Reason New Year’s Resolutions Fail

Many people stumble in their new year’s resolutions early on in the year. And once they have “failed” instead of picking themselves up and trying again, they simply give up. They consider it all or nothing and they declare it a loss.

It’s so common in fact, that the second Friday in January has been dubbed “Quitter’s Day” – and no, I’m not making that up. It’s a thing.

If you decide you want to do something every day, and you miss a day, it can be tempting to write off the whole idea. When the excitement of setting a goal wears off, and it turns into hard work, it’s easier to quit.

Don’t Give Up Before You Begin

Some people even give up before they begin.

There’s a meme that goes around Facebook every so often that has a group of people chanting.

It goes like this:

Leader: What do we want?
Group: To start our exercise and diet!

Leader: When do we want to start?
Group: On Monday!

Leader: It is Monday…
Group: Next Monday!

If you make a New Year’s resolution and you stumble at the beginning, it’s easy to write it off and decide to try again next year. The problem with that plan, is that you keep pushing your plans back again and again, and never reach your goals.

Have you ever been there?

Have you ever wanted to do something — you liked the idea of it — but when it came to actually getting it done, you just…. didn’t?

I know I have.

New Year’s Resolutions and the Fear of Failure

Lately, my biggest struggle has been the fear of failure. I have several things I want to do in the new year, new year’s resolutions I want to make, but I’m afraid to commit, because I’m afraid I will fail.

I’m afraid that when it really comes down to it, I won’t follow through–that I’ll give up.

Satan loves to remind me of all the times I have failed in the past, and he whispers doubts in my ear… and I believe them; I believe him?

Is that something you struggle with?

The truth is, we are never guaranteed success when we start something new. However, years ago, God brought me to 1 Thessalonians 5:24. It says:

The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.
NIV

If God is calling you to make a New Year’s Resolution, He will help you stick with it. However, I’m a firm believe that instead of New Year’s Resolutions, we should set small goals or start new habits.

It’s easy to look at the next twelve months and feel overwhelmed. The longer the resolution timeline, the greater chance of failure.

So, what if, instead of making a New Year’s Resolution, you simply said that for the next week, you were going to insert your goal here?

Or maybe even start smaller than that. Maybe you set your alarm and get up ten minutes earlier in the morning to spend time reading your Bible before you get ready for school. You can see how it goes, and decide if you want to do it again the next morning.

Another idea, would be to create a habit. It’s commonly known that it takes 21 days to form a habit. So, what if, instead of creating a New Year’s Resolution, you simply committed to 21 days of reading a devotional every day at a specific point in time?

That was actually the idea behind our 21-day teen devotional books–to help teens like you form a habit of spending time with the One who made you.

Free Teen Devotional eBooks

In honor the new year, we are offering them free on Amazon Kindle for a limited time. Now through January 2nd, 2025, you can get both 21 Teen Devotionals… for Girls! and 21 Teen Devotionals… for Guys! free from Amazon Kindle. And start your year off by forming a new habit of spending time with Jesus.

Pick up your copies below!