If you’ve ever blamed yourself for abandoning a goal, like meditating, saving money, or eating fewer beige foods, you’re (probably) not lazy. You might just be bored.
A new study published in Psychological Science tracked thousands of people trying to keep their New Year’s resolutions, and the ones who actually followed through had something in common. They weren’t gritting their teeth. They weren’t fighting urges. They were enjoying themselves. Even just a little.
Researchers followed 2,000 people in the U.S. for a full year. Those who stuck with their goals weren’t the ones who powered through out of duty. They were the ones who liked what they were doing. “Intrinsic motivation”—basically, finding some kind of pleasure in the process—was a better predictor of success than importance, guilt, or the looming threat of your doctor’s disappointment.
Even when people said their goals were important, it didn’t matter as much as whether they actually enjoyed working toward them. That pattern held in China, too, where a parallel study found the same results during Chinese New Year. And it wasn’t just based on surveys. In another part of the study, researchers tracked step counts from people trying to walk more. Those who enjoyed the walking walked more. No rocket science there, just human nature.
Why People Fail at Everything: A Breakdown
To test this further, researchers gave 763 people a health app and split them into two groups. One group was told to treat it like a game. The other group was told it would give them useful info. The game group scanned 26 percent more products. Same app, different mindset, totally different outcome.
Why does fun matter more than self-control? Because goals with long-term payoffs, like better health, financial security, or glowing skin in your 50s, aren’t motivating enough on their own. The brain tends to discount future rewards. It wants dopamine now. And fun delivers.
What’s striking is how often people misunderstand what keeps them going. In a follow-up survey, most participants guessed that the importance of a goal mattered more than the enjoyment of it. They were wrong. And that disconnect might be one reason people keep failing at things they actually care about.
Willpower works in short bursts. But long-term change needs something steadier. Something you don’t have to wrestle with every morning. If you hate running, find another way to move. If you’re cooking healthy meals you can’t stand, change the recipes. The point isn’t to suffer your way into progress. The point is to make it easier to return to.
Pick something you’ll keep showing up for. Then make it fun enough that you stop dreading it. Long-term success might start with just liking what you’re doing. So, either change your perspective—or change the process.
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