While the first week of January may have seen you setting yourself fitness goals, reading more, or spending less time on social media, by now, in the middle of the month, your motivation may have started to wither.
Many of us start the year with the best intentions, hoping to make positive changes to our habits and lifestyles. But it doesn’t take long for us to start slipping away from our goals.
Why is it that so many of us seem to give up after just two weeks of trying to better ourselves every new year? Experts explain why your motivation may have dipped and how to get yourself back on track to achieving your goals.
The cycle of change
Research by healthcare provider Benenden Health revealed recently that 71 per cent of UK adults feel confident in keeping their health resolutions in the short term. However, reasons such as loss of motivation (56 per cent), lack of time (28 per cent), and becoming bored of your new routine (25 per cent), means many of us are already falling short on our resolutions.
Running out of steam when trying to sustain a new healthy habit, or when trying to quit an unhealthy one, is a feeling we’re all too familiar with at this time of year. But what’s going on in our heads when this happens? The “cycle of change”, or the “transtheoretical model” reminds us that lasting change is hard work to bring about.
“We go through stages of contemplation, preparation, and action, possibly joined by periods of recurrence or loss of motivation during this cycle of change,” explains registered clinical counsellor and founder of Lotus Therapy, Nilou Esmaeilpour. “Realising that relapses or a loss of motivation is part of the process can prevent us from feeling discouraged and prepare ourselves to start again.”
A fear of failing or a need to retreat to your comfort zone may also explain this lack of resilience. This can all tie back to our “inner critic”, according to chartered psychologist Dr Victoria Lawson.
“Whenever we set extremely high standards for ourselves that sometimes can’t be met, rather than resetting and thinking, OK this isn’t working, how can I do it differently? People just give up on themselves,” she says.
“Our inner critic can be a big problem. I ask people if they would speak to a good friend who’s in the same position in such a critical way. Or what steps would they give to that person to keep going or find new ways.”
Lecturer in psychology at Swansea University, Simon Williams, added that practical reasons such as falling back into regular busy life with work, kids and less free time can also be a reason for resistance.
How do we stick to our resolutions?
It takes about 66 days for people to make a new habit, according to a famous 2009 study by researchers at UCL.
Williams describes this in terms of two types of motivation:
- reflective motivation– when you are intentionally aware of how motivated you are to do something
- automatic motivation– when you do something because it’s now a habit
“We can see it similar to running a marathon, with mile markers where motivation is going to dip and you’re questioning why you’re doing it,” he explains. “But then you will then get a second wind of motivation if you push through.”
Williams advises to set yourself goals that are measurable to keep yourself pushing through this stage of change. “You should try tracking your progress. Is it achievable? Is it realistic? Is this something you want to do?,” he says.
“Accountability friends”, mindfulness, and tracking your progress on an app are also resources you can use to stay on track with your goals. By using tools and tips to get through the period of low motivation, Williams says: “This time next year, it’s going to be a habit, not a goal.”
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