The Resolutions We Forgot

It’s January 24th and by now, only about 25% of people are still holding strong to the resolutions they powerfully claimed on January 1st. 

So many factors go into the mass resolution “failure” and most of them aren’t really all that surprising. 

Lots of overcommitting, being crunched for time, unforeseen circumstances, the kids got sick, I got sick, I forgot my Apple Watch one time and the walk doesn’t count without it…

The usual suspects.

There’s one scientifically supported reason that people don’t achieve their goals, though, that made me say OOP.

You are significantly less likely to achieve a goal when you tell people about it.

~unsends group text~

~deletes instagram story~

~laughs nervously~

~rethinks entire life~

A study conducted by students at NYU found data suggesting that telling people your goals is not just a bad play, but a full on psychological trap.

“Listen up. I’m running a marathon!”

What you think it does: creates motivation and accountability 

What it actually does: gives your brain a sense of completeness 

Instead of creating motivation… our brains are like, “whew, we told someone. That was awesome. What’s next, queen?” 😈

We scratched the itch. We got the quick hit. It’s as good as done. Except not really because unfortunately marathons do not run themselves. 

We would all have 26.2 stickers on our cars if they did.

So what, are we all doomed now? We can’t share anything with anyone if we want to complete it? Not necessarily. 

If your goal is to complete 75 Hard, you might need to tell your spouse so they know they’ve got bedtime duty when you need to squeeze that second workout in. 

If your goal is to hit $20M this year, you might need to tell your team so you can rally around the mission.

If your goal is to cross-stitch for 3 hours every night, you might need to tell your roommate so she doesn’t call an intervention. 

The part of telling people your goals that makes it a trap is that we are so convinced it’s the very action that will keep us pushing forward when the going gets tough. 

“I won’t let my small group down. I told them I was starting my business this year.”

That’s just not as compelling as we think. And you may start your business this year - but it won’t be because you told your small group you would. 

The best news is, there’s something that we can do to avoid the psychological trap. 

Studies show that writing your goals down, for your eyes only, is the most effective way to propel yourself to completion. 

Take time to journal this week with that in mind. Whether you’re still holding strong to an intention you set 23 days ago, or whether you’re hanging on by a thread (and I don’t just mean your resolution)…

January 1st, April 8th, May 3rd, August 9th, December 26th… You don’t need a new year or a new month or a Monday to start working towards something. Today is looking awfully good.

Don’t tell me what you’re chasing after, but let’s get it.

Xo, The Salesgirls