New Year’s Resolutions: new year = new me?

Two-and-a-half-week wonder? January 19th the “Quitter’s Day”

As more than 70% of the resolutions tend to fall into the “physical health” category (Oscarsson et al., 2017) the research of the fitness app Strava team is quite interesting. They analysed data from 98.3 million uploaded activities, and the research shows that most of their customers break their annual commitment within 3 weeks, more precisely on January 19th called by them as the “Quitter’s Day” (Best, 2020).

As we can see many times our good intentions fade and fail with time. New year stands as an official time to start over, yet, for many, good intentions are lost quickly and never materialize into significant changes. The reason behind many not being able to stick even to the simplest New Year’s resolutions are usually one of the following:

– Too big, unrealistic goals,

– Not having the honest will to change,

– Frightening lack of resources (knowledge, money, time, etc.) vs. comfort zone,

– Not getting enough support (family, friends),

– Or even just being too drunk to remember (Connellan, 2011).

Focusing on personal growth through a change in attitude, motivation, and/or a state of mind

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.”

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

Plan ahead + Prioritise + Focus = Keep you on track (Dodd & Sundheim, 2005)

As the above quotation encapsulates so well, it is crucial to have a plan that helps to keep our promises on the right track. Instead of losing sight of the goal (and hope as well), focusing desperately on unrealistic, unattainable targets dividing your resolution into smaller, measurable, easier-to-attain goals, the effort and sacrifice do not feel so intimidating. They can keep you motivated throughout the whole journey. Not to forget, that in this way, the joy of completing these little tasks one by one (measuring the success/progress) might provide you faith even in the darkest times when for example, the diet to-be-followed seems impossible as you already know that you are capable of the change you desire. Instead of framing our resolutions around a result, we can frame them around more specific positive actions, e.g., the effort to lose weight converted into exercise 30 minutes a day would hold a higher success probability.

Successful changes come in stages!

It is easier to adopt a new positive behaviour than to stop a negative behaviour (Connellan, 2011)

We rarely do what we don’t want to do, so first, it is worth checking on our current habits – are they good or bad / worth keeping or not? Whenever possible, piggyback on an existing habit – It’s much easier than to fight (and suffer) to introduce a new one.

Engineer your environment – Part1: As you make your bed so you must lie on it

The one who can always trust is yourself: you need to lead the change and prepare your (physical) environment to be able to achieve your goals – create micro-changes in your daily routine! Clean out your pantry, fridge, and storage. You don’t need unnecessary temptations lying around. Find a local gym and get a membership. Get yourself and your body on a schedule, set your alarm for the same time every morning, and go to sleep the same time every night. It might be hard at first, but the treasure awaits you at the end – closer than you would think! In the same vein, it is suggested that micro-changes work better if implemented daily by little steps at the beginning. Then, after getting used to it can be implemented more and more regularly into your lifestyle.

Engineer your environment – Part2: The fellowship of resolutions

Even the best-engineered environment cannot mean alone the solution, and even our most well-intentioned resolutions might sometimes seem a bit of an overreach, just too distant, too difficult to reach. It might happen that we need a little help as it is too much to handle on our own. As in every other field of life, it helps if we have a companion on the road to keep us on the right track—to share the joys and tears of the journey. Consequently, it is essential to remind those around you of your goals and try to make them sit on the same side of the table.

“(…) the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives.”

GoT

Sometimes it is okay to fail, just don’t give up (Halpern, 2001)

We must admit that in contrast with fairy tales, here in the real world, sometimes even the best “the biggest heroes” slip. Sometimes it just doesn’t go that way as it should be – it happens. What really does matter is the long term: while you might occasionally fail, see it as a lesson — not a crushing defeat – and move on, move forward. Looking at New Year’s resolutions: 17% of people only succeeded after more than 6 attempts, but they grew at the end!

Because no one is perfect.

A new year came again with possibly bringing a “new me” as well as with the atmosphere of this particular date numerous new opportunities can be pursued with positive habits and lifestyle changes implemented (“forced”) into our life self-initially in our quest for health and self-actualisation (not just this day, though, but any day of the year if the right amount of willpower is there). People can indeed change; however, it might be hard at first. Even if only a tiny proportion succeed, it is better than not even trying – we grow by each lesson does not matter the battle is won or lost in case we have the right attitude. Therefore, resolutions should be realistic, specific, and not too numerous. Not to forget, the New Year package should include a plan of implementation: not only what you want to achieve but also how YOU CAN DO IT.

Sources:

-Best, S. (2020). Day that people most likely to give up New Year’s resolutions – and it’s soon. Mirror. Retrieved 3 January 2022, from https://www.mirror.co.uk/science/day-people-most-likely-give-21199904.

-Connellan, T. (2011). The 1% solution for work and life. (1st ed.). Peak Performance Press.

-Dodd, P., & Sundheim, D. (2005). The 25 Best Time Management Tools & Techniques: How to Get More Done Without Driving Yourself Crazy (1st ed.). Peak Performance Press.

-Epcot Poll. (1985). Resolutions not kept long by most Americans. Lake Buena Vista, FL: Walt Disney World.

-Halpern, J. S. (2001). A New Year’s resolution: To make better resolutions. International Journal of Trauma Nursing, 7(1), 1-2. https://doi.org/10.1067/mtn.2001.112910

-Marlatt, G. A., & Kaplan, B. E. (1972). Self-Initiated Attempts to Change Behavior: A Study of New Year’s Resolutions. Psychological Reports, 30(1), 123–131. https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.1972.30.1.123

-Norcross, J. C., Ratzin, A. C., & Payne, D. (1989). Ringing in the new year: The change processes and reported outcomes of resolutions. Addictive Behaviors, 14(2), 205-212. https://doi.org/10.1016/0306-4603(89)90050-6

-Norcross, J. C., & Vangarelli, D. J. (1988). The resolution solution: Longitudinal examination of New Year’s change attempts. Journal of Substance Abuse, 1(2), 127-134. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0899-3289(88)80016-6  

-Oscarsson, M., Rozental, A., Andersson, G., & Carlbring, P. (2017). New Year’s resolutions: A large scale randomized controlled trial. In 9th Swedish Congress on Internet Interventions (SWEsrii), Linköping, Sweden, November 3, 2017 (pp. 11-11).