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New Year’s Resolutions: The Good, Bad and Ugly
January is over, February is just starting. You made some awesome New Year’s resolutions on December 31st. By this point, things may be starting to fall off if you’re not seeing any measurable results. Honestly, that’s normal. New Year’s Resolutions can absolutely be tricky. In this post, I’ll go through the hype of resolutions, some of the common pitfalls of New Year’s Resolutions, and how to get around them.
The Pros and Cons of Resolutions
Resolutions can be both good and bad. The general idea of them being good is that you’re trying to change something in your life that you aren’t happy with. This can have both ups and downs. Here are some of the pros and cons.
Pros
- Time for reflection
The act of making New Year’s resolutions gives us time to reflect on the past year and what we have accomplished and what we may want to accomplish. Often, we don’t take enough time to reflect so this is a perfect opportunity to do so.
- The desire to better ourselves
Along the same lines as reflection comes a desire to better ourselves. What can we do better next year? What can we improve on? What didn’t I do as well as I know I can?
- Deadlines for motivational purposes
The act of making a New Year’s resolution inherently sets a deadline. “This year I’m going to get in shape.” It sets a goal, 1 year to achieve that goal. If deadlines motivate you this will be great!
Cons
- Being overly critical of yourself
Resolutions can make us overly critical of ourselves. I’m too …. (insert your thing of choice). They can really spotlight areas that we aren’t happy with our lives. If you tend to overthink and focus on the negatives, you’ll need to be careful with this. I often find myself focusing on the negatives instead of the positives.
- Mistakes can discourage continuing with a resolution
Most health-based resolutions aren’t easy. It requires a lot of discipline to start eating better, working out, or losing weight until they become ingrained as habits. If you make mistakes or don’t see results this can deter you from staying on the path to achieve your resolutions.
- The pressure of a deadline
Deadlines can also be negative. Sometimes the pressure of a deadline can be too much to overcome.
Related: Happiness Can Improve Your Health
Examples of Typical New Year’s Resolutions
Common New Year’s resolutions usually include some of the following:
- Exercise more/get in shape
- Lose Weight
- Eat Healthier
- Practice better self-care
- Quit smoking
These are all great resolutions. I’ve made many of them myself so I know just how hard they can be to achieve real results. Sometimes it can be helpful to keep track of resolutions in a journal. This book is perfect for a resolution journal or a bucket list journal. Things I want to do this year. I like that it’s not dated or year specific so I can use it however I choose.
Related: Diet Damage Control
The Hype behind New Year’s Resolutions
The hype that is associated with resolutions absolutely can be a trap.
Everyone is always asking things like “What New Year’s Resolutions are you making this year?” Hype ALWAYS dies down. You see it in gyms across the country every year.
Come January the gym is packed, you can’t find a square inch of space in your Pilates class if you show up later than 5 minutes before the start time. But midway through February, it’s calmed down again.
Related: 5 Healthy Snacks (even kids will love)
How to Get Past it
There are a few things that can help get you past the hype of resolutions.
Your Why
In general, if you have a strong enough of a why that’s usually enough to keep you motivated. Back when I quit smoking in 2014, I had a strong why. I wanted to be healthier for my son (he was only 2 at the time, he’s almost 10 now). It’s been over 6 years and I’ve changed enough habits that I won’t ever smoke again!
Exceptional Guidance
It pays to have a good trainer. If you’re starting to workout, having a good trainer can be worth his or her weight in gold. They can help get you measurable results quickly. Seeing results can really help keep you going if you are ready to quit.
A good trainer can also help you overcome plateaus on your journey. Remember, weight loss is NEVER linear!
If money is tight and you don’t have the extra cash for a trainer there are other options. Here are some options:
Yogadownload.com – This website gives you access to over 1700 online yoga classes!
Jillian Michaels DVD’s – I started with a lot of her DVD’s before I joined a gym. I also didn’t have a ton of money when I first started getting in shape, so this was an inexpensive way to get regular exercise in. And I had the benefit of not having to leave the house.
Youtube.com – There are SO many different workout videos out there on YouTube! Just for fun type in Richard Simmons exercise class and try one of those!
Bodyweight workouts – click HERE for my archive of workouts, most of these are bodyweight or little to no equipment needed! To gain access to all of the printables for the workouts click HERE.
At-home workout equipment can also help. With a good yoga mat, exercise ball, and pair of dumbbells you can do a lot.
21 days to create a habit
We’ve all heard this before. It takes about 21 days to create a habit. Why do you think there are so many 21-day challenges out there? (Stay tuned for my own FREE 21-Day Challenge!)
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” – Will Durant
Related: 15 Fun Exercises to Try at Work!
New Year’s Resolutions aren’t bad. They CAN work if you’re mindful of the potential pitfalls that can happen along the way. Most resolutions are lifestyle changes. That kind of change is hard and will require work. Remember, the hype will always die down so having a strong why helps.
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Thanks for the tips!
This is great and there are definitely some truths there! I think sometimes people’s biggest struggles with keeping their resolutions is that they’re too lofty or not focused enough! Also creating goals with stepping stones help to stay on track and reach them!
Amy, exactly! Especially with health and fitness resolutions, there can be some major pitfalls.
I really like how your blog post is structured. We shouldn’t just set resolutions for the sake of setting them and not actually have the right methods to implement them and achieve them. Thanks for sharing your advice!
Faith, that’s exactly the point. Make resolutions because you want to make a change, not because you feel pressured to do so because “everyone else is doing it.” You are very welcome!
Very helpful. I love new year’s resolutions and make a big kids every year, but always break it up by month so my growth and excitement doesn’t die out by February!
That’s an awesome idea, I’ll have to give it a try!
I love that you included the pros and the cons of resolutions! I stopped setting them because usually they were so big and my why wasn’t strong enough so when I didn’t accomplish them, I would belittle myself. I suppose with any goal, they are something that needs to be SMART so that they can actually be accomplished. Great post!
Sasha, having a strong why can get you through almost anything. There isn’t anything wrong with BIG goals. I set them for myself all of the time!
I do more reflecting and asking myself what I can do better in the coming year. I gradually work towards those goals instead of setting a specific goal for the entire year. This is a great post!
Amanda, that is a great thing to do!
It’s crazy that it only takes 21 days to make a habit! Just gotta get started with day 1 and keep making it happen. 😀 thanks for sharing!
Jen, one day at a time. It can help to have an accountability partner for motivation.