1 Feb
Why Do People Not Keep Their New Year’s Resolution?
Every New Year millions of people make a resolution to get rid of an unwanted behaviour or introduce a positive new behaviour into their lives. The most popular resolutions are improving finances, losing weight, healthier eating, stopping smoking, increasing exercise, improving education or career and cutting down on drinking.
Unfortunately, for over a quarter of those people their good intentions will have come to nothing by the end of the week and others will give up within a couple of months.
Newyear
So why is it so difficult to keep a new year‘s resolution and why do so many people make the same resolution year after year?
Well, the good news is that in a 1998 US survey 60% of people who had stuck to a resolution had taken more than one attempt. If you fail in your attempt don’t give up because the information below should help to improve your chances of success.
There are two things working against you when you make a resolution.
Firstly, it’s much easier to continue with your current behaviour. People tend to be creatures of habit and find it difficult to change, especially if it’s something that they enjoy. Once something has become a habit you do it without even thinking about it. This can be helpful in a lot of situations as there are so many things you do every day without thinking about them, but it’s not helpful if you’ve created a habit that you don’t want.
Smokers will often automatically light up when they pick up the phone or when they have a drink in their hand because they associate those situations with smoking. Children who have been brought up to eat everything on their plate often still do the same as adults because it was drummed into them at an early age.
Secondly, the benefits of the resolution aren’t usually immediate so it’s difficult to maintain enthusiasm. The resolution you have made probably involves reducing or removing an activity that you get pleasure from and replacing it with something that initially appears unpleasant. When you have had a long day you know you feel more comfortable curled up in front of the TV rather than starting a new exercise regime. Resisting the chocolate bar or extra beer is not easy when you know how lovely it will taste. Socialising with friends gives more immediate pleasure than spending time looking for a new job or studying.
Here are some ways to get over these two problems and increase your chances of keeping your new year‘s resolution this year.
Start off by analysing the behaviour you want to change. It needs to be something that you want to do for yourself, not something that other people think would be good for you. That will increase your motivation.
Think about what you are currently doing (or not doing) that you want to change. What is your current habit or behaviour giving you? Think about what you would miss most if you changed your current behaviour. Can you just modify your current behaviour so you keep the benefits whilst still getting rid of the bad parts or do you need a complete change?
Then think about the driving force behind your resolution. Why do you want to make this change in your life? What will be the benefit to you? Think about how your life will be with this resolution in place. Write it down, draw it or tell someone about it. Make it real to yourself so you know that you do want it. Keep reminding yourself of that new lifestyle every day as it will make your motivation stronger and make the change easier.
Finally, think about ways of altering what you do so that habits don’t have the chance to pop up. If you are changing your diet then make sure there are no snacks close at hand or change your route home so you don’t walk past the takeaway shop. If you are stopping smoking think about alternative ways of taking a break or change your morning routine so you are doing something else when you would have had your first cigarette of the day. If you are saving money then make a shopping list so you don’t buy any unnecessary extras or make a new ritual of putting spare change in a jar every night.
It takes about four to six weeks to create a new habit so soon you will be automatically doing the things that decided in your new year‘s resolution.
Why Do People Not Keep Their New Year’s Resolution?
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