We all make New Year's resolutions, not many of us stick to them: 7 strategies to help you reach
And just like so, we start a new year…. and with that, comes the all-too-predictable resolution setting time. For some reason, it seems like the beginning of the calendar year provides some sort of a “clean slate”, an opportunity to start anew and to make things better. The urge to improve ourselves is very common; around 45% of Americans usually make New Year’s resolutions. The majority of the resolutions involve weight loss, a desire to be more organized, saving more, spending less, “enjoying life to its fullest”, staying fit and healthy, and so on. And we are remarkably good at keeping at our resolutions.. for the first two weeks that is. 71% of us keep the resolutions past 2 weeks, but the percentage drops to 46% at the 6 month-mark.
Ultimately, only around 8% of individuals who set a New Year’s resolution are successful in achieving them. Bummer.
No wonder all those pieces around the futility of New Year’s resolutions spread like wildfire all over the internet! At the same time, efforts to understand the psychology behind our challenges in keeping our goals have been made. In a Forbes piece, a professor of organizational behaviour explains how, despite our repeated attempts to achieve the same resolution, the majority of us tends to fail at some point. He cites two hypotheses to provide an explanation: one if called the “what the hell” effect, where the individual may overindulge - or overspend, or perhaps staying physically inactive for longer - because they have already blown off whatever limit they set for themselves for the day, and hope to get a fresh start the next. The other phenomenon refers to “planning fallacy” or the fact that we tend to underestimate how difficult or how much time it will take us to achieve something, or we may be overly optimistic about our ability to follow through.
A psychologist writing for U.S News explains that while our intentions may be pure and worthy - and unfortunately they stem from some form of “Holiday remorse- , it is difficult to achieve our goals if we don’t prepare to maintain our motivation or to cope with the stress that is involved in any change. He explains that since change generates stress, and lacking the psychological resources to successfully deal with the discomfort created by change, our ability to continue with our task may be compromised.
All of the above sounds like a the perfect recipe for failure. I, however, would like to posit that we should embrace the notion that the New Year brings a “fresh start” of sorts, and that it is possible to make changes to our daily routines, provided a few key elements are followed.
1. Ask yourself “Why setting this goal now?” One sure way to ensure that you will stick with your resolution is to find why it is important to do it now. Many of us think about changing one aspect of our lives at some point, but the fact that the calendar hits January 1st doesn’t mean we have to do it. Asking yourself “why now?” will ensure that you have enough motivation to see you carry your resolution through. When it comes to change, psychologists have known for a while that any individual may fall in one of six stages when thinking about undertaking a change: precontemplation - not thinking actively about change; contemplation - thinking about changing, but not necessarily right away; determination - “I will do it” there is no longer a back and forth as to whether you should change or not; action, maintenance and lastly, termination. If you find that the inner motivation is not strong enough and you don’t really find a particularly strong pull to undertake a change, it is less likely that you will be able to meet your goal. You can, however, do a “pros and cons” exercise and it may move the motivation needle a little bit.
2. Small, realistic does it. Yes, we all can dream of accomplishing very lofty goals... “I want to be healthier in the New Year” but such dreamy statements are very likely to fail. Try instead to come up with something that you know you can incorporate into your daily routine, and plan your day to further accommodate for the change. If you are trying to lose a few pounds, perhaps giving up your daily coke is more attainable than attempting to fuel your body with just 1200 calories a day.
3. Metrics play a role. The other issue with the ideas that imply revamping our lives is that progress is very difficult to quantify. How do you define if you are succeeding at “living cleaner”? Tracking your progress is crucial to ensure success, so stick with a goal that is measurable: reduce your trips to starbucks for your venti lattes from 4 a week to 2; quantify your walking with a pedometer or your smartphone tracker, and make sure you are sticking to your realistic daily dose of movement. Track your diet with pen and paper or with an online tool, making sure you are reaching the desired daily caloric intake. Also, establish a realistic timeline. That way you will seen an end to your current efforts, and surely will feel compelled to add more at the end.
4. Find support. You are more likely to keep accountable if you share your goals with someone. Share your plans with a friend or close relative, and ask them to check on your progress every so often. You may also use the power of social media to keep yourself accountable. After all, that’s what your Facebook friends are for! Your holistic health care provider can also help you find strategies to stick to your goals, and to troubleshoot when difficulties arise.
5. Build on what you have already accomplished. This is where establishing small realistic goals comes in; by allowing yourself to acknowledge that you are indeed capable of undertaking a -small- change, you will build your self-confidence and will propel yourself to undertake bigger challenges later on.
6. Practice, practice, practice. The more you repeat the behaviour that you want to incorporate in your life, the more likely it will be to make it a permanent activity. Those 10k steps won’t walk themselves, and if you go at it slowly, consistently, you will get to your desired level. The first few weeks of every new habit are the toughest, but as your self-discipline muscle becomes stronger, things will get easier.
7. Take a moment to look back, look deep, and don’t fear occasional slip-ups. Take this journey as an opportunity to learn about yourself and to bring more awareness into your life. As mentioned before, changes will make you uncomfortable and paying attention to such unease will bring new information about yourself to light that you did not know before. Remaining mindful throughout the experience will also provide a perspective whenever you have that ginger-molasses cookie you have been trying to avoid or you skipped the workout you committed to; you will look at yourself with compassion, instead of self-criticism, will accept that it is our human nature to experience hiccups along the way, and that most likely you will get another chance to try all over again.
So with all these tools and strategies, you are on the path to success. Yes, the science points at very slim chances to actually accomplishing what we set out to do at New Year’s - however, Dr Mike Evans mentions in his video that people making New Year’s resolutions are 10 times more likely to succeed than those who tried to undertake a change any other time of the year!- but keeping these things in mind will, at the very least, help you be prepared for next year ;)
What are your New Year’s resolutions? What strategies have you found helpful in keeping yourself on track? If I missed any strategy that you have found helpful, I would love to know!
Be well, and may the New Year be filled with love, light and good health.
Paola
