#26: A Different Approach to New Year's Resolutions

Hey Friends,

Last week I touched on the idea that nothing magical happens in the New Year. Fitness is still difficult, and you will still be the same person you are now.

This week I want to talk more specifically about New Year’s resolutions and how I think you should approach them.

Weekly Action Point

We’re gonna try some breathing exercises prior to going to sleep. Goal is to slow your mind, reduce anxious thoughts, and sleep better.

Here is a 5 minute video from youtube to guide you:

Go to bed 5 minutes earlier and just get it done. Should not be something that is difficult to do.

If you have never done any sort of breathing exercise, it might feel a bit odd. But that’s ok. If you don’t like this video, there are a million other ones on Youtube that you could try out. Enjoy!

The Problem with New Year’s Resolutions

What would you guess is the average date people quit on their New Year’s resolution?

Go ahead, actually think about it. How long do people stick to this grandiose goal they set for their year?

The answer (according to a google search, which of course would never lie to me) is the second Friday of January. Womp womp.

Truthfully, there were a whole bunch of different answers on google. When I asked ChatGPT, it told me January 19th.

Either way, my point is the same.

When people make a resolution for the next 365 days, the overwhelming majority are calling it quits well before day 30.

Why is that?

Well, for many reasons. Partly for reasons I talked about last week: nothing magical changes in the New Year and it doesn’t get any easier. If you missed last week, here it is. 

Some other reasons people fail on their New Year’s resolutions:

- Setting goals that are too big or unattainable
- Not having a plan in place
- Skipping the “why” behind their goal
- Chasing a result without actually wanting to do the work

The list goes on and on.

If you think you’re going to completely overhaul your lifestlye overnight and actually stick to it, I’ll tell you that for the vast majority of people, it simply doesn’t work that way.

Taking a Different Approach

So hopefully I made my point that New Year’s resolutions are a stupid waste of time, sorry to burst your bubble if you love making one.

But would do I think you should do instead?

Monthly resolutions.

Or, if you want, weekly resolutions. If you want weekly resolutions, just do the simple things I put in your weekly action points.

I personally love doing monthly resolutions. For example, in December I made it my goal to read a personal growth book a minimum of 4 nights per week for 10 minutes before bed.

Nothing crazy or outrageous. However, I believe that doing it successfully will help me take baby steps in the general direction I’m looking to go with my life.

Trying to tell yourself you’re going to commit to something for an entire year in your resolution is extremely daunting.

Taking things in chunks month by month makes your goal seem much more attainable.

And my favorite part?

Setting goals this way helps you to build momentum and stack other goals on top.

For example, at the end of December, even though it’s no longer my specific goal to be reading before bed, I will be reading before bed more frequently than I was in November.

Doing something small for a month straight helps you to build it as a habit.

In January, I’ve already decided that I want my goal to be centered around improving mobility in my hips and shoulders.

When I make the shift to focusing on mobility, I’m going to continue reading like I have been in December because it’s become a part of my evening routine that I enjoy.

Plus, doing monthly resolutions allows us to have 12 small things we want to improve on in the year, instead of one thing. Which I think is kinda cool.

The main point I want to get across is this: Smaller goals that you can actually stick to will be far more imactful in the long term than making big goals that you quit on.

In the Weekly Action Point for next week I’m going to help you set a goal for your January, so you’ll have that to look forward to.

But, that’s enough for this week. Lets talk about some food.

Ben’s Best

🍽️ Breakfast idea:

Peanut butter chocolate oats

I gave this idea a while back in a different newsletter, but it’s the breakfast that I eat almost every morning so I want to throw it out again.

Oats
Peanut butter
Honey
Lilly’s Dark Chocolate Baking Chips (don’t have any added sugar)

Your serving size can be different, but I personally do two servings of oats, one serving of natural peanut butter, 11 g (half a serving) of honey, and 14 g of chocolate chips (1 serving).

Just microwave the oats with some water, put your toppings on, and you’re done. I pair these oats with some eggs so that I have a protein source.

If you’re feeling lazy, you could also mix a scoop of protein powder into the oats instead of making eggs.

Instagram: Instead of linking one instagram video like I usually do, here is an account to check out. I get a ton of recipes from this guy, he is amazing. Do yourself a favor and scroll through his page.

🎙️ Podcasts I loved this week:

• Huberman Lab : Dr. Kelly Starrett: How to Improve Your Mobility, Posture & Flexibility

• Mind Pump 2488: If You’re Not Building Muscle, This is Why