How to Find a New Year’s Resolution You’ll Stick With
Three takeaways:
Although it may seem counterintuitive, treating a New Year’s resolution as an exercise in self-control or willpower is a common misunderstanding. A well-selected resolution is grounded in activities or habits that you already enjoy.
Behavioral scientist BJ Fogg highlights the value of building on activities that already bring you satisfaction. For example, if the goal is to eat healthier, it’s more effective to focus on incorporating nutritious foods you already like rather than forcing yourself to eat ones you don’t enjoy. “Help yourself do what you already want to do,” Fogg says. “And help yourself feel successful.”
Along with selecting habits that already conform to your interests, these tactics can help you make sure these habits stick:
- Get specific and plan for obstacles: “I want to get in shape” isn’t precise enough. Instead, set a specific resolution- to run 10 miles or to bench press an amount of weight by a certain date on the calendar. This forces you to get practical about how you are going to achieve the goal, providing a clear map on the road to making that goal a reality. Thinking practically about your goal will help you forecast– and then overcome– the logistical or mental forces standing in your way.
- Use small, simple habits: When working to change your behavior, set the bar low to ensure the habit is easy to maintain. On days when you feel motivated, you can do more, but the key is to make the habit achievable every day. For example, commit to doing one push-up each morning at a specific time rather than aiming for 20.
- Set routines with friends: Build a new habit with a friend or loved one to hold yourself accountable. Survey after survey has shown that taking on a goal with a partner leads to not only greater accountability, but greater overall enjoyment of that task.
By approaching goal-setting with mindfulness and intention, we can turn our New Year’s resolutions into lasting habits that provide lifelong benefits.
By Teddy Amenabar for The Washington Post
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