why it is an almost impossible goal to achieve

If you can’t keep your resolutions, it’s because of your brain. I promise, it’s not a bad excuse!

Every time a new year begins, two camps appear: those who make good resolutions and those who don’t even try to make them because they already know they won’t succeed. Indeed, keeping your good resolutions is extremely difficult and it is not just a problem of willpower. Explanations.

Good resolutions quickly abandoned

Stop smoking, go to bed earlier, lose weight, do sports, see the glass as half full and not half empty… There is no shortage of good resolutions in January. And for good reason, everyone wants to start the year as best as possible.

Yet after a few weeks, despite the sincere desire to persevere, the resolutions that were made end up shattered. Almost nine out of ten people abandon their resolutions halfway through. Could it be a problem of will? Not only that. In reality, it would be more a story of habit and brain.

The brain hates change

Habits are those things that we do automatically and repeatedly almost without thinking. They are completely anchored in us. These are routines that are part of our lives, even if some of them are destructive.

The problem is that the brain hates change. When we give in to a habit, the brain secretes dopamine, the hormone of immediate happiness and reward. A fleeting pleasure but a pleasure nonetheless. This is the case, for example, of the square of chocolate that we have at the café. A little ritual that is difficult to get rid of.

Adopting a new habit, in this case a good resolution, is particularly difficult to do. It takes an immense effort to give up the little pleasure that a routine brings. The future reward – the loss of a few kilos for example – requires significant work of projection.

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Replace one habit with another

It’s not easy to have distant goals. In general, we prefer to see the result right away. Because, let’s not kid ourselves, when we choose a good resolution it’s because we expect something from it. As a result we give up or procrastinate by postponing until later.

To keep your resolution over time, it is necessary to take the bull by the horns and above all, to hold on. It is estimated that you have to wait 21 days before a habit no longer becomes a habit. However, for some people it may take much longer.

The ideal is to replace one habit with another while being clear about its limits. For example, it is impossible to lose twenty kilos in three months! In other words, if you want to keep your good resolutions over time, set achievable goals. Three kilos in three months is already very good.

So, motivated? See you next year to find out if you made it!