New Year’s Resolutions

Every year, New Year’s resolutions fail by a whopping 80%. The most obvious one is the weight loss resolution. Think about it. Gyms are absolutely packed from January 2^nd with all the resolution people. And then by the end of February, they’re all gone. The same holds true for any other goal you might have. Quitting a bad habit, adopting a healthy one, learning or improving a skill such as art.

But why do New Year’s resolutions fail more often than not?

(Photo Credit: 123RF.com Image ID: 35301688 Copyright: elwynn)

The primary reason is that people dive in without a solid plan. A plan is like your roadmap. It’s one thing to say that you’re going to lose X number of pounds or learn how to create a graphic novel. That’s great! Either one is a lofty goal. But how are you going to get there? If you don’t have a solid plan, you could end up wasting a lot of time and energy going around in circles and reaching dead ends. And before you know it, you give up altogether and quit.

So how do you improve your chances this year?

1. Change your mindset. Up until now, your mind has been operating under the impression that you’ll quit sooner rather than later. If you’re trying to reach a goal or create new habits, you have to shift that thinking. You’re in it for the long haul. It’s about making lifestyle changes. For some of us, fitting in time for art means adjusting schedules or possibly even eliminating non-productive activities (like scrolling through social media). For others, it might mean waking up a bit earlier to sneak in 30 minutes to draw. Whatever the case may be for you, make the determination that this is not just a fly by night thing. It’s not so much something you WANT to do but something you’re GOING to do.
2. Have a solid plan. Without a plan as a roadmap, you’ll be fighting an uphill battle. While every worthwhile goal is not without its struggles, having a plan helps you to avoid the feelings of overwhelm and hopelessness that often lead to quitting. First of all, how will you do it? Will you look for online courses or go to an actual brick and mortar school? Will you research your topic of interest online or buy art books? Next, start with the end goal in mind. Let’s say you’ll have reached it by this time next year. Give yourself quarterly benchmarks (March, June, October, December). What milestone will you have accomplished at each of these times. A lot of online courses have a set number of lessons which you can divide up over the course of 12 months. And lastly, how will you reach each of these goals? Draw for 30 minutes each morning? Finish one lesson per week? Be specific and hold yourself to it. That way, by the next New Year’s resolution, you’ll be ready for something bigger and better.
   

   So what’s your resolution plan for 2021? (Photo Credit: 123RF.com Image ID: 91584655 Copyright: dolphfyn)

3. Stop making excuses. As humans, we spout off excuses without really thinking about it. We don’t even realize that we’re doing it. But one thing is certain…the more excuses you make, the farther away your goals become. Start learning to spot every time you make an excuse and realize it for what it is. The sooner you stop relying on excuses to avoid doing what you should, the sooner you can start making some progress in reaching your goals.
4. Avoid trading. Oops! Didn’t get your drawing time in today because you wanted to sleep in? So, you’ll just add today’s 30 minutes to tomorrow’s 30 minutes, right? That rarely ever pans out. Trading or making exchanges like that is giving yourself wiggle room. But the question is, are you trying reach your New Year’s resolution or not? Are you making lifestyle changes, or aren’t you? If you decide to learn on your own and not go to an art school, then adopt the school curriculum mentality. Set a schedule and stick to it. Tardies, absences, missing assignments, etc. If you’re serious about reaching this goal, you’ll treat it seriously. If you don’t show up one day, instead of detention, try taking your drawing time out of your social media time to make it up.
   

   Don’t berate yourself for not being perfect right from the start. Mistakes are part of the process. Mistakes are going to happen. It’s only a negative if you learn nothing from it. (Photo Credit: 123RF.com Image ID: 23407193 Copyright: Pheniti Prasomphethiran)

5. Accept that mistakes will be made and vow to learn from them. While #3 and #4 sound very serious (and they should), you must also realize that you are human. You are bound to slip up from time to time. This is not just in sticking to your new schedule or whatever the case may be with your new habits, but also in the work you produce. If you’re learning something new, you’re probably going to hate the work you do in the beginning. But give yourself the luxury of making mistakes. Mistakes are your best teachers. Learn from them and apply what you learned to the next attempt. No big deal. Learn to appreciate your mistakes for what they will teach you as opposed to viewing it with a self-deprecating attitude from which you learn absolutely nothing.

Big or small, New Year’s resolutions are not impossible to reach and you don’t have to be a statistic on the failing side. If your goal is bigger, don’t knock yourself down for not finishing it within a year. If you managed to stay on track throughout the year, making slow but steady progress, count that as a win! Even if your goal was to do a 10-minute doodle every day but you fell a few days short, it’s still several hundred more doodles than if you had not had a resolution in the first place, right?  Be proud of what you accomplish. Learn from this coming year’s experience and apply it to the next resolution.

Further Reading:

Artistic Resolutions