Is Success on the Other Side of Fear?

By January 31, 33% of people abandon their New Year’s resolutions. And by June, 77% of people forget they ever had resolutions. Which might explain why only 40% of people even set resolutions each year.

Some experts argue that failure is inevitable because our resolutions/goals are too lofty, too foggy, too easy, or too hard. Other research suggests that we are too busy to stay committed, we suffer from decision fatigue, we don’t plan our goals, and we don’t have anyone to support us.

What if the only thing standing in our way is fear? “Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear.” (George Adair) But what are we afraid of?

• Failing (being part of the 77% of resolution quitters!)
• Succeeding (and then having to sustain success all year)
• Judgment and Criticism (by those not changing or improving)
• Disappointment (what if the change is not as great as anticipated?)
• Comparison (what if our resolution/goal is not as ambitious as other people’s?)
• Hard Work (don’t we already work hard enough?)
• Being Uncomfortable (there’s a reason for remote controls and drive-thrus)
• Change (we’ve finally figured things out so why endure change?)
• Lack of Aspiration (what if we don’t even know what we want?)

If we acknowledged our fears first, we could walk to the other side of them and then employ all the sage, habit-changing, goal-achieving advice and strategies:

• Write goals down
• Put them in the positive
• Share them with others
• Get a mentor for support
• Anchor a new habit to another habit
• Execute a goal in chunks
• Work on them early each day

We don’t need another holiday ritual to make us feel inadequate. We just need to face our fears before they sabotage our success.