Okay, it’s that time again. Time for all Americans to embrace the new year and determine, in the next 12 months, how many pounds we will lose, how much money we will save, which bad habits we will change, and all the books we will read. For most of us, the task is easy: just dust off last year’s plan and we are good to go. We aren’t so good at making resolutions and sticking to them.
There are different reasons why – and all of them good ones. Who wants to drink water when you can have sweet tea? Despite the promises on the label, that fat-free stuff tastes nothing like ice cream. And no low-fat, sugar-free, watered-down substitute prepares you for sleep like that midnight snack of Oreos and whole milk.
But the most powerful reason that we fail to keep our New Year’s resolutions is because they force us to move out of our comfort zones and create new ones. It’s been proven that humans will often take a beating rather than face the unknown. (Can anybody say spousal abuse?). We don’t often identify it, but the underlying force that prevents our success is fear.