I’ve had a gaze
around the intermaweb and there are literally thousands of advice sites about
how to keep New Years Resolutions (NYR) and it still seems to be a popular, if
flawed, tradition for most of the planet!
The most popular
resolutions tend to be along the lines of:
Break a bad habit
Visit somewhere new
Spend less/more time doing…
Start a new hobby
Eat or drink more or less…
Stop smoking
…and
statistically, by February most of these will be shot!
Over half of the
nation set NYR, and nearly 90% fail to make them last.
Why? Well the
most common reason is that annoying thing called willpower. Contrary to popular
belief, it’s a little bit comforting to know that having strong willpower is
not something we’re born with. In other words you do have some degree of
control over everything you strive to do!
So here’s the
technical bit:
Your brain cells
that operate willpower are located in the area right behind your forehead, and
that particular area of the brain is also responsible for staying focused,
handling short-term memory and solving minimalistic tasks.
When you set a new
year’s resolution, a colossal amount of willpower is required, and frankly it’s
an amount that your brain simply cannot handle.
The problem is that
any abstract goal you have (that is not tied to a specific behaviour) is near
impossible for your brain to focus on. So blanket changes are therefore often
destined to fail (there are always exceptions) – but small steps do indeed help
For example:
Resolution: Quit smoking vs. Habit:
Only stop smoking that 1 cigarette you have every morning
after breakfast, and decrease other times gradually.
Resolution: Eat healthy food vs. Habit:
Start substituting that 1 mid-morning bag of crisps for a
banana.
Resolution: Lose Weight vs. Habit:
Every evening after work, go for a 2-3 minute run or walk
around the block.
Resolution: Manage stress vs. Habit:
Meditate for a while every morning after you wake up. Set
your alarm ten minutes earlier than normal, and then hit the snooze button and
genuinely relax for a few minutes before getting up.
By immediately
breaking down each resolution and seeing what the smallest habit could be, the
success rates shoot up dramatically. Leaving NYR vague will bring you no such
joy.
Top Tips:
1. Pick only one
or two resolutions
…and make them important to you.
2. Take baby
steps – make it a tiny habit
…make sure you break down your resolution as far as you can to
the simplest task possible. Turn it into the tiniest habit that you can perform
in less than 60 seconds.
3. Hold yourself
accountable for what you want to change.
…Tell others or write it down. If you tell some of your friends
and family about the new tiny habit you’ve created, you are much more likely to
stick to it. Write it down maybe – or even set reminders on your phone.
4. Focus on the
carrot not the stick. Positive feedback and rewards increase your chance of
success.
…Treating yourself to an unhealthy snack after a few days of
successful diet habits changes is more than appropriate if you really want to
make it through to a successful end.
So good luck! You never know in
advance, but you do know that it’ll all be down to you!
As for me, I’d like to have a
crack at the short walk every day, so will endeavour to give that a go.
And for fun I’ll try and keep
the following resolutions:
1.Swear less
2.Blog less than 1000 words (target
achieved on this blog – woo hoo!)
Thanks for reading, and I'll be back in 2015 if you fancy indulging some more!
Belief.Love.Spirit
XxX
