Jan 06 2009
Making Your New Year’s Resolutions Stick By Feyi Boroffice
Making Your New Year’s Resolutions Stick By Feyi Boroffice
The beginning of the year is always a great time to take a fresh look at your life and set some goals for yourself that will get you closer to your dreams. Unfortunately as we all know too well, most New Year’s Resolutions do not stick. I’ve seen research saying that as many as 90% of people give up on their New Year’s Resolutions before the month of January is over! This has led to setting New Year’s Resolutions being seen as a pointless exercise which most of us have decided to abandon. However, setting New Year’s Resolutions is a great practice because it’s a chance to actually reflect on where you are and how far or how close it is to where you would like to be. In the hustle and bustle of life we have few opportunities during the year to slow down and assess our life so this time of the year is perfect for this important process of reflection.
As the old saying goes - “if you don’t know where you’re going how will you know when you get there?” There is something motivating about setting goals that drives you to get out of your seat and do something about your life. The key to success is to figure out how to sustain that drive. At 2Hats we have done a lot of research on goal setting and what separates success from failure. The 3 keys to sticking with your resolutions are:
1) Keep it Positive: Research has shown that it is much easier to start a new habit than to stop an old one. In fact most resolutions fail precisely because they are based on negative framing i.e. “I will stop eating junk”or “I will stop smoking”. This type of thinking is actually counter-intuitive because you end up focusing on the bad habit you are trying to break and eventually your will breaks down. A better approach is to start with the bad habit you are trying to break and then think of an action that will nullify that habit. For example, changing the previous resolutions to “I will eat more vegetables” or “I will wear a nicotine patch” will result in a higher chance of success.
2) Create a Specific Routine: Human beings are creatures of habit. Think about the things you do without thinking such as brushing your teeth when you wake up - these things require minimum effort because we repeat the same process every day at the same time. Studies show that it takes just a few days of repetitive action for a new habit to begin forming. In fact, simply scheduling the time and place for an action triples the chances of that action actually taking place.
To turn your resolution into a habit, break it down into an activity that can be performed routinely and determine exactly when you will perform the activity, preferably on a daily basis at first until it is hardwired in your system. As an example, if your resolution is to lose weight, you could develop a routine such as “I will exercise at 6am every morning for the next 7 days and thereafter exercise on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays every week”.
3) Develop a Support System: Finally, human beings thrive when they feel supported. It is a statistical fact that sports teams do better in home games than away games due to the fact that there are more fans to cheer them on at home games. There is no dispute as to how helpful support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous are in helping people shed their destructive habits. A support system is just as important for developing positive habits as in stopping bad ones. The key to a successful support system is that the people believe in your ability to succeed and will cheer you on instead of criticizing you when you face inevitable setbacks. Setting up a support system does not have to be an elaborate process - it can be as simple as setting up a weekly phone call with a friend to update her on your progress.
Sticking to your New Year’s Resolutions is not an easy task, but it is possible. You are now equipped to buck the trend and make those resolutions stick. Good luck!
Feyi Boroffice is President & CEO of 2Hats Network, a career consulting and leadership development company for women. We help women thrive in their personal and professional lives and we advise companies on how to optimize the performance of their female employees. For more information visit http://www.2hatsnetwork.com Feyi is a certified executive and life coach with an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Interested in setting up a Cheer & Share group that will support each other in keeping your New Year’s Resolutions? Visit http://www.2hatsnetwork.com for more information.
