"Every January, millions of people make New Year's resolutions. It's a joyous time full of high hopes.

Ask people what they wish to achieve or hope to accomplish in the following year, and the answer will usually be something such as any of these: "I want to: lose weight; improve my finances; get a new job; exercise more; revamp a relationship; manage stress; stop smoking; set aside more time for myself."

But according to U.S. News & World Report, the failure rate for New Year's resolutions is around 80%, and most people lose their resolve by mid-February.

Why? Because when it comes time to take action, we hem and haw, deliberate and dither.

We wait for the free time, the perfect day, the right season, a better mood, or optimal market conditions. Or we stall until we can resolve a medical crisis, smooth over a problem with the in-laws, or put some money in the bank."

Nabil Fanous is a cosmetic surgeon and author of The Universal Rules of Life: 27 Secrets for Managing Time, Stress, and People.

He shares his story and discusses his KevinMD article, "Stop the 'I will' habit."

Did you enjoy today's episode?

Rate and review the show so more audiences can find The Podcast by KevinMD.

Subscribe on your favorite podcast app to get notified when a new episode comes out.

Click here to earn 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 CME for this episode.

Also available in Category 1 CME bundles.

Powered by CMEfy - a seamless way for busy clinician learners to discover Internet Point-of-Care Learning opportunities that reward AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Learn more at about.cmefy.com/cme-info

Satya Nadella describes how lessons from Microsoft’s history apply to today’s boom

Cheeky Pint

Memory, Entitlements, and Action in AI Systems

The AI-powered Podcast Player