I think by now most of us know that those who set New Year’s Resolutions fail at keeping those resolutions. And most of the time they fail pretty quickly, even before the end of January. (My health insurance adviser even made fun of me when he asked me when people fail and I sarcastically said 3rd of January. He laughed because he said it is actually the 2nd of January. True or not, it just goes to show people’s faith in resolution-keeping.)
Yet millions of people around the world continue to make New Year’s Resolutions. Why? Believe it or not, it is because they are optimists and they have a certain hope, or belief in themselves that they will stick to those resolutions, or at least try.
If you are one of those people who have set a goal and have already failed, don’t feel so bad. Most people fail. But you should at least give yourself a small pat on the back for trying and for hoping. Those who have hope or keep on trying are the most likely to succeed even after failure. For example, last year, I vowed to take a picture a day for the rest of the year and miserably failed even before my birthday came around in February. But I am trying again this year. And this time, I’ve recruited a group of friends on Flickr to keep me going further than last year.
So keep it up. You may have failed but who says you can’t keep trying? Just think about what you can do differently this time to keep you from failing again. What did you learn the last time you failed? Do you need more motivation or moral support? Do you need more reminders? Do you need me to email you every day? (just kidding). Whatever it is, enlist the help that you need and you will be more likely to succeed.