Happy New Year!
It’s that time of year again, that annual ritual of making promises to ourselves – what we like to call our New Years Resolutions. Even if it’s a not quite a promise, most of us will make a kind of mental preparation to improve some aspect of our life, whether it’s a positive activity like going to the gym regularly, or quitting a bad habit like smoking. The nice thing about personal resolutions is that when we keep them we can feel proud of our accomplishment, and if we don’t… well then, there’s always next year. I found some research by the Statistics Brain Research Institute on the length of time most people keep their resolutions. This may help you with the kind of resolution you want to make.
Statistically, 76.2 per cent of people who make New Years resolutions are only able to keep them for one week. For two weeks, it’s 68.4 per cent. Only 58.4 per cent get through a whole month, and beyond six months it’s 44.8 per cent. Unless we are doggedly determined to keep a resolution, we can feel better that we belong to the three quarters of people who fail by the end of January, or are part of more than half of people who fail by the end of June.
For those who really want to succeed in their Resolutions, I dug up this advice from an article by a psychologist, Joseph Luciani, Ph.D., published in US News in 2015. I think it’s still very applicable advice.
To summarize what Dr. Luciani says:
1. Think small
Choose simple challenges and make them happen every day. When you get used to keeping your personal commitments, then move on to step 2.
2. Build self-trust
Cultivate your capacity for self-trust. Choose challenges that you know you can succeed at. Don’t make a pledge that you’re not sure you can keep.
3. Invent challenges
This is something you should do all day long. For example, finish your paperwork before watching TV
4. Cultivate optimism
Don’t let negatives rule your life. Focus on positives. If you’re a complainer, then stop complaining to yourself and to others.
5. Develop critical awareness
This means you should strive to shed light on any negative habits you have, and don’t let them dominate your life. Now, if you are still convinced you want to make a News Years Resolution, I found a list of ones that statistically you should probably not make.
According to Time magazine, the top ten resolutions that are most commonly made and then broken are: 1) lose weight/get fit; 2) quit smoking; 3) learn something new; 4) eat healthier and diet; 5) get out of debt and save money; 6) spend more time with family; 7) travel to new places; 8) be less stressed; 9) volunteer; 10) drink less. I’ll bet there’s at least one resolution in the above list that you have tried to make in the past.
Before you decide it’s pointless to try any more, remember that 1) you don’t have to be a statistic (that is, an average – you are still a unique individual; and 2) why not see what happens if you apply Dr. Luciani’s advice to the big goals listed in the Time magazine article! Instead of resolving something so big as to quit smoking, try to quit smoking for one day. Or instead of saying something so general as learning something new, try to focus on something specific like, “Learn how to cook new dish.” I adopted the following formula for reaching achievable goals in business. Maybe it can also be used for personal resolutions too.
The formula is called SMART. Make your goals 1) Specific; 2) Measurable; 3) Attainable; 4) Relevant; 5) Time-sensitive.
Of course, if you simply cannot keep your New Years Resolutions, maybe it’s better simply to resolve not to make any resolutions at all. But I’m guessing you won’t be able to keep that one either.
Whatever you decide, I urge you to make this one resolution with me: Have a Happy New Year!
Thanks for reading!
Sibo Zhang, REALTOR®