Why Most Resolutions Fail – and How to Finally Make Yours Stick

Each January, millions of us begin the year with a sense of hope and determination. We buy the planners, download the apps, and make big promises to ourselves: This is the year I’ll finally get in shape. Spend less. Save more. Stress less.

And yet – despite our best intentions – most of those resolutions quietly disappear...within only a few weeks.

Research shows that only 8% of people actually achieve their resolutions, and nearly 20% abandon them within the first week.

By February? 80% of us have already let them go completely.

And if you believe the workplace is any different – think again. Each year, only 8% of personal goals are accomplished, and just about 20% of strategic company-wide goals are successfully met.

After 12 years in corporate HR, I cannot help but laugh when I see these numbers. From my experience, the vast majority of strategic goals set by companies are so vague and meaningless, they copy-and-paste them year-after-year with little-to-no change.

And I cannot count the number of employees – myself included – who entered "get promoted" as their primary goal for the year without much further detail. From analysts to senior vice presidents, many share the hope that their manager simply needed to see that goal in writing to take it seriously and grant them the new title.

If only that were true.

But beneath the abysmal failure rates and persistent HR follow-up emails that drive you to near insanity, there lies a deeper truth: It is not that we are lazy or undisciplined that we find ourselves so often falling short.

It’s that most of us have never been taught how to set meaningful goals.

The Real Problem Isn’t You

Most resolutions fail not because we lack willpower, but because we set them from a place of misalignment, vagueness, and burnout.

Just think about it for a moment. The most common goals and resolutions are those that sound good on paper – exercise more, spend less time online, get promoted. But they all have one thing in common: they lack connection to who we are and what we value most as individuals.

They’re often born from pressure, comparison, fear, guilt, or shame. All of which are terrible long-term motivators, especially when the usual struggles of life begin to emerge. "Exercise more" may be a well intentioned resolution, but trying to keep it up when working 50-hours a week, experiencing financial strain, or navigating burnout is an uphill battle.

And over time, this cycle of failed attempts starts to rewire the brain.

Research in neuroscience has shown that repeated failure around our goals leads to a rewiring of how our brains process motivation. They begin to recognize our resolutions not as opportunities for growth and alignment, but as perceived threats to our sense of well-being, activating our amygdala and triggering our survival response.

To protect us from potential failure – complete with feelings of shame, anxiety, and disappointment – it begins to actively motivate us to avoid the resolution altogether.

Not out of laziness, but out of self-preservation.

From Good Intentions to Resilient Resolutions

This is where the concept of Resilient Resolutions comes in – a framework to help people design goals that work with your brain, not against it.

Resilient Resolutions blend positive psychology, neuroscience, and practical strategy to transform your goals from transactional (“I need to fix this”) to transformational (“I want to grow into this”).

The framework is built around four pillars:

1. Meaningful Motivation – anchoring your goals in your personal values and sense of purpose.

2. Intentional Implementation – breaking goals into clear, achievable steps that build real progress and small wins along the journey.

3. Maintaining Momentum – anticipating challenges and planning how you’ll stay grounded through them.

4. Strategic Support – building accountability, community, and gratitude into the process.

Each pillar addresses one of the core reasons most resolutions fail – and together, they create a structure for sustainable success.

Why This Approach Works

The Resilient Resolutions framework isn’t just inspirational – it’s evidence-based.

Across both personal and professional goal-setting research, these four pillars have consistently been linked to higher motivation, greater emotional well-being, and improved performance.

• Studies show that goals aligned with one’s core values are up to 18x more likely to sustain motivation and satisfaction than those driven by external rewards. Aligning goals to purpose triggers healthier dopamine patterns, which boost energy and engagement.

• Setting specific, measurable steps makes goals 42% more likely to succeed – and dramatically reduces cognitive stress. Through the creation of small wins along the path, the brain remains unthreatened and better motivated.

• When people plan for obstacles in advance, success rates rise by up to 60%, and emotional resilience increases 6x, especially when grounded in one's strengths.

• Having an accountability partner increases goal success by 65%, and regular check-ins boost that number to 95%.

In other words: goals built on alignment, clarity, resilience, and connection actually work – not because they promise perfection, but because they create the space for growth and meaningful progress.

From Transactional to Transformational

Here’s the real shift: Traditional resolutions often start from a place of pressure – a reaction to what’s “wrong” or missing.

Resilient Resolutions, on the other hand, begin from a place of possibility. They invite curiosity, compassion, and consistency.

They don’t ask, What do you need to fix? or What are you missing?

They ask, Who do you want to become – and how can your goals support that journey?

This Year, Let's Do It Differently

Think back on your goals from the last couple of years. How many of them felt inviting – like an opportunity to come home to yourself? And how many felt like a burden – something that came with a side of guilt, shame, or “should”?

You are not a failure for not sticking with those goals. You are not undisciplined, unmotivated, or broken.

You’ve just been using a framework that doesn’t reflect how your brain – or your heart – actually works.

So this year, let's do it differently.

If you’re ready to create resolutions that feel grounded, motivating, and genuinely sustainable, I invite you to join me for my upcoming Resilient Resolutions Workshop – a small-group, interactive experience designed to help you turn at least one of your goals into a Resilient Resolution.

In this 2.5-hour session, you’ll:

• Learn the neuroscience of sustainable success

• Clarify the “why” behind your goal

• Design step-by-step actions that fit your life, and

• Build a plan to maintain motivation and accountability

You’ll leave with not just another goal, but a roadmap – one that’s deeply aligned with your values and built to help you thrive through the year ahead.

Because when we stop chasing resolutions that drain us, we finally have the energy to pursue the ones that fulfill us.

So this year, may your resolutions feel less like a list to complete – and more like an invitation to become.

✨ Workshop Details: Resilient Resolutions Workshop – $95