Why You Can't Stick To Your New Year's Resolutions (Gallery)

It happens to most people: As January drones on, the once-fierce motivation to stick to that New Year's resolution has started to dwindle. Come February, most people have quit; the people who haven't quit are clinging to their intentions by their last thread, holding on for dear life.

It's incredibly frustrating and can cook up all kinds of guilt, self-loathing, and regret. If I wasn't so lazy, I'd have stuck with it this time around. If only I had more willpower... Sitting with that dissatisfaction is more than uncomfortable. It's definitely not the triumphant way you imagined your year starting when you made your resolution in the first place.

But in reality, sticking to a New Year's resolution has little to do with laziness or will power at all. Most people make a fatal error in creating their resolutions from the get go, but then later blame themselves for their inability to keep up with their intentions. We consulted numerous sources to get to the bottom of what's really going on when you call it quits. If you made a resolution this January, here are 15 reasons you're probably struggling so much to stick to it.

Sure you want to "get healthy," but what does that mean, specifically? Setting a vague goal like that means you'll never really know if you accomplished it. At what point do you suddenly realize you've achieved optimal health and feel like you succeeded? To be brutally honest: never. Pick a goal that's specific and task-oriented (e.g., read 10 books, eat two servings of vegetables every day) to ensure even the possibility of success.

This is an offshoot of the previous point — you can't control your body weight. Your body has a predetermined set point that's entirely out of your control. When you live a generally healthy lifestyle, you'll likely find a stable weight that's best for you. However, this weight could be lighter, heavier, or exactly the same as you are now. If you don't lose weight by the end of the year, despite your best efforts, it's not because you're doing something wrong. Your body just doesn't want to lose weight.

By focusing on the outcome of weight loss when it comes to your health, you're neglecting to tune in to the healthy habits that could really make you feel better in your body. Some of those healthy habits might not result in weight loss. But that doesn't mean they aren't worthwhile! Some diet-related healthy habits to consider this year could be to add more fruits and vegetables to your diet, cook meals at home, or try new foods.

You start off the year fully committed to your New Year's resolution. You mess up once. Before you know it, you're beating yourself up for spending too much that day, skipping the gym, or eating your fourth Oreo cookie. Many people faced with this situation decide to throw in the towel. After all, they already failed at their resolution, right? Why should they keep trying?

That's the all-or-nothing thinking talking. Nobody's perfect. And when trying something new, you're bound to slip up a few times. But abandoning the project entirely doesn't need to happen. So you missed one day. That doesn't mean you can't get right back to it tomorrow.

You've probably heard that positive motivation works better than negative — a kid is more likely to listen if you reward him when he does wash the dishes than if you scold him when he doesn't.

We hate to break it to you, but you haven't changed all that much since age 10. Positive motivation works better across the board. But we often forget this fact when trying to motivate ourselves.

When it comes to our health goals, we tend to focus on the areas we fall short. Maybe you "ate badly" last year or "were lazy" and didn't exercise. These self-criticisms are ruthless, and they do more harm than good. Instead, focus on the positives of achieving your goal. When you eat more vegetables, how do you feel physically? When you get outside and get moving, do you feel energized and strong? Remind yourself of the reward you're chasing to motivate your next step instead of the negative consequences of giving up.

Another time to find a new goal is if you thought the resolution would be fun and rewarding to accomplish, but you quickly find the reality is feeling much different. For example, say you want to get into running. You set the goal of running a 10k by the end of the year. Once you start training, though, you discover that you hate running and it's actually keeping you away from the other forms of exercise you used to enjoy. It's okay to figure out that running — or knitting, journaling, writing a book — isn't for you. Don't continue putting hours into something that isn't serving you. New Year's resolutions are supposed to make your life better. If it's not serving that purpose, let that goal go.

Life can get in the way of achieving your stricter goals. For instance, say you intend to eat one salad a day every single day. If you have both lunch and dinner plans that don't involve salad, does that mean you failed at your resolution? Is keeping your resolution worth missing out on those social experiences? Finances could also get in the way. Maybe your goal is to travel more, so you set a resolution to take a trip once a month. Halfway through the year, you might find you have more financial strain than you anticipated. Allow yourself some flexibility to ensure you can actually stick to your goal. The more adaptable and achievable the goal, the better.

It's not always comfortable to talk about, but a negative self-worth can bleed its way into all aspects of your life. If you aren't valuing yourself and your accomplishments, it might become much harder to achieve whatever self-improvement goal you're set on. I'm not worth it, so why would I spend time trying to better myself? When this happens, practice self-compassion and patience. The more time you devote to taking care of yourself, the better you'll feel.