You may have the best intentions to follow through with your new year resolutions, but new research finds that most people will give up on them by the middle of January.
Strava, a social network for athletes, analyzed 31.5 million online global activities in January 2018 and found that January 12 is the date when most people report that they failed to keep up with their resolutions.
According to Strava’s Gareth Mills, it’s difficult to stick to resolutions despite the pressure to get fit and live a healthy lifestyle, reports the New York Post.
A whopping 80 percent of people fail to follow through with their new year’s resolutions, according to U.S. clinical psychologist Joseph Luciani. And a University of Scranton study found that just 8 percent of people complete their new year goals.
More than half of new year resolutions involve healthier eating, more exercise, and clearing financial debt.
According to Strava, it’s easier to achieve an exercise goal if you work alongside others. Joining a club also boosted people’s activity by 46 percent.
Experts say that it’s easier to improve your lifestyle habits by tackling one thing at a time instead of trying to do everything at once.
“Start with small changes and continue to build on these or try to tackle one change at a time,” Registered nutritionist and associate lecturer at Flinders University Dr. Carly Moores told The Post. “Try to set yourself goals, reflect on your progress towards these, acknowledge that changes can be hard, and results won’t happen overnight … or even in the first two weeks of the new year.”
It can also be helpful to write down your goals, according to Harvard Medical School lecturer Dr. Marcelo Campos. “January 1st is just a day in the calendar. You can reset your calendar every day for a fresh start. Go back to the beginning and revisit that first question to remind yourself of the rewards of making the change,” Campos wrote in a blog post for Harvard Health.
The American Psychological Association also has several tips for following through with new year’s resolutions:
- Make small resolutions you can keep, such as replacing dessert with yogurt.
- Change one thing at a time.
- Share your resolutions with friends and family so they can help you.
- Don’t give up if you if you make a mistake; you can still get back on track.
- Ask for support from professionals.
