The Resolution Blind Spot
- Coach Tony
- Jan 7
- 6 min read
Why ignoring this one habit makes every resolution harder than it needs to be
Every January, people promise themselves the same things.
They want to get fitter.
They want to eat better.
They want to improve their mental health.
They want to save more money.
They want to feel better overall.
The data backs this up.
Across multiple New Year resolution surveys, close to half of respondents list improved fitness or exercising more as their number one goal. Around forty percent focus on saving money or improving their finances. Roughly a third cite mental health, weight loss or healthier eating as priorities.
The pattern is consistent year after year. Health, fitness, diet, finances and overall wellbeing dominate the list.
And yet the one change that would make progress in all of these areas easier is usually treated as optional.
Alcohol reduction rarely appears in the top tier of resolutions. When it does show up, it is typically framed as a secondary goal or a short-term challenge rather than a meaningful lever for long term change.
That is the paradox.
Because for many people, if they just reduced or eliminated alcohol, it would directly accelerate progress in every one of the goals they say they care about!
Alcohol is not just another habit. It is the hidden "drag factor" sitting underneath the most common New Year resolutions.
Imagine trying to meet your New Year resolution goals with a rucksack full of rocks strapped to your back.
You can make progress, but it is slower, harder and more frustrating than it needs to be.
That weight on your back? That is the effect of alcohol on your system.
Imagine trying to meet your New Year resolution goals with a rucksack full of rocks strapped to your back!
What People Say They Want
On the surface, people are pretty clear about what they want to improve,
More energy.
Better sleep.
Weight loss or improved fitness.
Lower stress and better mental health.
More control over money.
These are sensible, practical goals. They reflect a desire to feel better in day to day life, not just chase an abstract ideal.
But there is another pattern in the survey data that matters just as much.
Most resolutions do not last.
Many people fall off their goals within the first few weeks. There is even a nickname for it, the second Friday of January, often referred to as Quitter’s Day.
On average, resolutions tend to last around two months.
By the second week in February nearly all New Years resolutions have died on the "Altar of good intentions"!
Only a small percentage of people stick with a resolution for the full year. Estimates typically land between eight and twelve percent.
In other words, most people are motivated in the beginning. They just struggle to sustain effort long enough to see meaningful change.
That is not a motivation problem. That should be considered a leverage problem!
By the second week in February nearly all New Years resolutions have died on the "Altar of Good Intentions"!
The Blind Spot
If health, fitness, mental health and finances matter so much, why is alcohol rarely treated as a priority?
The answer is not denial or lack of intelligence.
Alcohol is culturally normalised. It is woven into social life and framed as a reward or stress reliever. Because of that, it often sits outside the category of habits people feel comfortable questioning.
There is also the quiet belief of “I do not have a problem”. Many people do not consider themselves to drink excessively by conventional standards. They are just normal drinkers and consider anyone who does have a problem with alcohol must be an "alcoholic".
So, alcohol never makes the shortlist of things to examine, even when it is subtlety affecting sleep, mood or consistency.
Short term challenges like Dry January, Dry July, Sober October tend reinforce this. A month off feels a lot safer than asking deeper questions about a long standing pattern or habit.
Often challenges are treated as a tick and flick exercise, and at the end of 30 days the individual quickly resumes the previous drinking behaviour having convinced themselves they "can't have a problem"! All because they just did 30 days alcohol free!
I have heard anecdotally of people hanging out for a big drinking "sesh" to celebrate the end of a 30 day challenge!
None of this requires judgement. It simply explains why alcohol often escapes scrutiny, even while people work hard on everything else.
At the end of 30 days the individual quickly resumes the previous drinking behaviour, having convinced themselves they "can't have a problem"!
Alcohol as the Bottleneck
This is where the conversation shifts from effort to effectiveness.
Alcohol does not just affect one outcome. It quietly influences all the areas people are trying to improve at once.
Sleep is an obvious example. Alcohol disrupts sleep quality and physical recovery, even when total hours look fine. Poor sleep then undermines training, mood, focus and motivation.
Alcohol also increases appetite and lowers impulse control. This makes it harder to eat well, particularly in the evenings. Even for people with strong intentions. Junk food tends to become the easier option when the safeguards are lowered.
Financially, the impact is both direct and indirect. The cost of alcohol itself adds up, throw in some junk food or Uber eats and your wallet can feel the pain. In terms of our health so do the downstream effects of low energy, reduced productivity and inconsistency.
Days off due to hangovers anyone?
When I was I.T. contracting those hangover days cost me real money!
Mental health is often the most overlooked connection. Alcohol increases anxiety and low mood over time, even in people who would not consider their drinking to be problematic.
When you zoom out, alcohol is not competing with fitness, diet or wellbeing goals.
It is sitting underneath them, quietly limiting progress.
Instead of five separate resolutions, there is that one upstream lever that no one considers.
Alcohol does not just affect one outcome. It quietly influences all the areas people are trying to improve at once.
The Bigger Idea
For many people, the biggest health improvement is not doing more.
It is removing the one thing that keeps undermining everything else.
This is not an argument against alcohol. It is not a moral stance.
It is a strategic one.
If someone wants better results from the effort they are already putting in, alcohol is the most logical place to look first.
Change the input, and "the system" (You) starts to behave differently without forcing it.
A Different Way to Approach the New Year
This does not require labels, declarations or lifetime promises.
A more useful approach is experimentation.
Pause your usual drinking pattern for a period of time.
Observe what changes without trying to optimise everything else.
Notice sleep, energy, mood, appetite and motivation.
Many people are surprised by how much improves without adding a single new habit.
That awareness often does more than another resolution ever could.
It shifts the question from how do I try harder to what actually helps me feel better.
And that is where lasting change usually begins.
Shift the question from "How do I try harder?" to "What actually helps me feel better?"
A Smarter Place to Start
If this article has raised questions rather than certainty, that is exactly where you want to be.
You do not need to decide anything long term. You do not need to label your drinking or commit to a permanent change.
The most useful next step is a short experiment.
That is why I created the Free 7-day alcohol reset. It is designed to help you pause your usual pattern, observe what shifts, and gather real information about how alcohol is affecting your sleep, energy, mood and motivation.
No pressure. No lectures. No requirement to quit forever.
Just seven days of structured guidance and a plan to help you see the hidden drag factor more clearly.
If nothing changes, you will have learned something valuable.
If things improve, you will know exactly where the leverage is.
You can find the Free 7-day alcohol reset here and decide what to do next from a place of clarity, not effort.
You don't need another resolution!
You need a plan, not a promise!
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