Ask HN: Do you make new year resolutions and stick to it? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Do you make new year resolutions and stick to it?

Over the past many years I have tried to make new year resolutions on different aspects of life (health, finance, skills). I try to stick to it for a few weeks or months but then I give up. And rinse and repeat. The new year resolutions have helped me to some extent over the long run, but nothing has changed my life deeply or become integral to my life, in short not as effective as they could have been.

I want to know from HN community do people here make new year resolutions and if so what strategies do they use to stick to the resolutions and have they become a permanent part of their life.

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You don’t. New year’s resolutions don’t stick and you’re not an uncommon case. For the next few months, gym memberships will spike from people who make it their resolution to stay fit but won’t.

There’s nothing about a calendar change that makes a life-changing decision easier. If you want to make a change, work for it now. Don’t wait for “the perfect time” or the excuse of the new year. And don’t try to do it all at once or beat yourself up when you miss a day.

Create a habit by starting small. Don’t vow to run a marathon every day, just commit to getting out of the house and running for ten minutes. That’s it. You can do ten minutes. As you keep doing it you’ll find the time, motivation, and stamina to do more. You grow your habit slowly until it becomes one.

There are plenty of books you can check on habit forming, but that’s the gist.

Above all, purge the notion of the new year as a marker for personal change. It hasn’t worked for you “over the past many years”, so why would it now? Stop thinking in terms of sweeping changes. Life is full of small habits and it’s those that impact who you are day-to-day.

No New Year Resolutions for me! I just don't believe I'd stick for even 5 minutes unless I really wanted to do [it] and if I wanted to do [it] I wouldn't need any more resolution, right?

I tried to do it in 2020, but Covid-19 f**d up my plans

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