So you’ve vowed to improve your fitness, meet ‘the one’, spring clean your lifestyle and pay off your credit card. Whatever your New Year’s resolutions, the sad truth is that come January, a vast majority will be broken.
According to Tom Connellan, author of “The 1 Percent Solution: How to Make Your Next 30 Days the Best Ever”, 25 percent of resolutions are abandoned by the first week of January.
There are many reasons why resolutions aren’t kept, but according to Connellan, three stand out.

We rely on motivation only.
People believe they will find one secret trick to motivating themselves when motivation actually comes from small successes.
Motivation can also be unreliable, as we live in a world where people expect us to use fear of failure as our motivation.
It is also out of our control, so when we get these ‘bursts’ of motivation, that is when we are expected to perform, but what if procrastination gets the better of us?
Instead of setting huge goals for ourselves like running that 20km straight off the bat, start with smaller more achievable goals, to have these small wins.

We only think big.
People only think in large terms that are often unrealistic – like losing lots of weight or making a major life change.
How many times have you seen people setting big goals for their New Year’s resolution? And actually achieve it?
Setting these huge, somewhat unrealistic goals can create a complex that puts stress on achieving these goals.
This in turn leads to lack of motivation, and excessive procrastination, we are looking at you Netflix.

We don’t realise that even positive change is uncomfortable.
Change, even good change, is a break from the norm.
In theory, change is exciting and progressive, but in reality it’s getting out of our comfort zones – and let’s face it, we all hate starting fresh.
Discomfort is what is needed for something new and positive to take place, and it’s so important to remember this when looking to kick your goals for 2025.
Acknowledge the discomfort, and look for positivity during the challenges.

So to keep your resolution all year long, take note of the following tips for crafting out your life changes in 2025.
Focus on one resolution. People desperate for a life overhaul make the mistake of vowing several changes at once.
Bad idea. Committing yourself to a whole list of improvements is overwhelming, and most likely, unachievable. (Can you really put in more hours at the office in hope of a promotion while spending more time with the kids? Exactly.)
Pick one habit, behaviour or trait that you truly want to tweak and make it your task for 2025.
Give yourself a reasonable timeline. Resolutions like “I’m going to lose five kilos by February” are certainly admirable, but in such a limited time frame, are not likely achievable. Giving yourself a reasonable time frame, along with decent parameters. Set weekly or monthly goals and monitor your success along the way – tweaking as you go.
Don’t do it alone. Telling your friends and family about your resolution might be daunting at first, but keeping your loved ones in the loop offers two advantages: Firstly, they’ll keep you away from potential threats (your signature dessert dish) and secondly, that extra bit of support from the people rooting for you, will make you try harder at achieving your goal.
Celebrate the small wins. Yeah sure, maybe you didn’t score the dream job that you wanted, or have your dream body by the end of the year. But, celebrate the small wins. Maybe you finally joined that gym that you were so scared of, or finally read that series that everyone has recommended. Celebrate the small wins and reward yourself!