A recent YouGov poll found that only 16% of Brits had any intentions of making New Year’s Resolutions this year, with women more likely to engage in the practice than men; this is down from 63% in the same poll in 2015. Americans appear more inclined – YouGov polling reports 34% for making New Year’s intentions for 2024.
However, according to researchers, the percentage of Americans who complete their resolutions is only 9% while 23% OF FOLKS GIVE UP ON THEIR RESOLUTIONS AT THE END OF THE FIRST WEEK AND 43% SWERVE OFF COURSE BY THE END OF JANUARY.
Is tradition unappealing to people today? Or is goal-setting too daunting these days? Did setting unrealistic goals overwhelm individuals in past years? Perhaps people wanted rewards for their accomplishments and found no pleasure in waiting for any affirmation after their hard-earned effort.
Here are some “rules-of-the-road” for making your resolution a reality:
- Expect a snafu or two — something unaccounted for may temporarily obstruct your path of completion – keep going.
2. To make your new habit stick, you may need to keep repeating it for a minimum of 66 days, according to some research. (This is another way of hinting, “Keep going.”)
3. Break down your resolution into chunks so that you can realize and celebrate small victories along the journey.
4. Make some plans for accountability. Write your resolution on paper and attach it to a place you will see it often. If exercising or eating healthy choices are your resolutions, perhaps you enlist the help of a friend or coach to support your efforts.
Actually, I endorse setting a resolution anytime of the year. I like the approach of Chilean American writer Isabel Allende. When she was forced to leave her homeland during a military coup that resulted in the assassination of her relative, Salvador Allende, she wanted to keep her family memories alive. She began writing a series of unmailed letters when her 99-year-old grandfather was dying in Chile and she could not visit him. Allende’s letter-writing turned into a 500-page first novel, The House of the Spirits. Allende began her writing January 8th; she waits for that day to begin each new novel.
Allende certainly faced a major snafu in life, but she had grit, defined by psychologist Angela Duckworth as passion plus persistence. She kept writing (for more than 66 days). By writing letters, she broke down her writing into chunks. I wonder if she had an accountability partner, but maybe having 3 out of 4 “rules-of-the-road” works too.
I call making any-day-of-the-year resolutions rewiring! Brains love novelty, so you will find energy by focusing on a desired change. While it takes a growth-and-grit mindset to make some change in your life, you can succeed if you KEEP GOING!
Pearls of Peace (PoP) Quiz
251. What resolution do you want to make happen in 2024?
252. How will you include plans for making your intention come true?
Pearls of Peace: A Family Psychologist’s Circle-of-Life Blog 