Four Proven Strategies for Keeping Your New Year's Resolutions
Author: Dr. Stephen Kraus, Success Scientist

'Tis the season for making – and breaking – New Year's
Resolutions…

Are you one of the 40-50% of Americans who make a resolution
each year? If you are, will you be part of the 20% who
keeps them, or the 80% who breaks them?

Fortunately, new research reveals proven strategies that
can dramatically increase your chances of keeping your
resolutions, and turning year-end ambitions into year-long
lifestyle changes.

But first, the facts about New Year's Resolutions
(or, as we will call them, NYRs)…


JUST THE FACTS, MA'AM…

- Each year about this time, 40-50% of Americans intend
to make a resolution
- This percentage has roughly doubled since the 1930s
- The vast majority of resolutions fall into three
categories: losing weight, quitting smoking, and
starting an exercise program
- NYRs are ancient. Over 4,000 years ago, Babylonians
tried to start the New Year “fresh” by repaying debts
and returning borrowed items. Two thousand years ago,
Romans ended the year by reviewing the one before,
resolving to achieve more, and paying homage to Janus,
the god of doorways and beginnings (and namesake of
the month January).
- Surprise! The vast majority of people who make
resolutions break them. Usually quickly.


THE BIG QUESTION: DO THEY WORK?

Do New Year's Resolutions work? Well, sort of. Research
suggests that the long-term success rates of NYRs are only
about 15-20%. Put another way, 80-85% are not able to keep
their resolutions over a one to two year period. For example,
at some point in their lives, nearly half of Americans have
made a New Year’s resolution to lose weight or change their
eating habits; of those, 20% broke their resolution within a
week, 68% broke it within three months, and only 15% kept
their resolution for a year or longer.

But the news isn't all bad. The process of making a
commitment like a New Year's resolution does appear to
increase the likelihood of making a life change and
sticking to it. In other words, only 15-20% of resolution-
makers are able to keep their resolutions, but people who
try to make the same kinds of life changes without making
a resolution do even worse.


THE EVEN BIGGER QUESTION

How can you increase your chances of sticking to your
resolution? (Or, for you non-resolution makers, making
some other kind of life change). Fortunately, research
has revealed the success strategies of resolution-keepers.


1. Start with realistic goals

Many people make resolutions that are so ambitious,
they have little hope of achieving them. Although such
ambitious goals can sometimes be motivating and
inspirational, they are more often daunting and
overwhelming. The result: people give up because
they think that "there's no way to get there from here."
For example, obese people typically set goals of
losing three times more than they have typically
lost in prior weight loss efforts.


2. Supplement your annual "resolution" with near-term goals

A resolution to lose 100 pounds is not only unrealistic,
but it is too long-term a goal to be truly motivating.
Odds are you'll find yourself sitting around for 9
or 10 months taking little action, living in denial,
or perhaps forgetting about your resolution altogether.

Try supplementing your annual goals with monthly, or
even weekly, goals. Although it's good to a have a
long-term vision of what you want to accomplish,
research shows that these more near-term goals lead
to better performance, greater confidence, enhanced
persistence, and more satisfaction with life than
longer-term goals.


3. Create plans for success

Near-term goals enhance performance because people
work harder as deadlines approach, and because they
spur the process of making plans for success.

Let's face it: most people who resolve to lose weight
or start exercising don't really flesh out strategies
for accomplishing their goals. They may buy a diet
book or join the gym, but that's about it. And of
course, that explains why millions of diet books are
sold, yet we still have an obesity epidemic, and health
clubs are overflowing in January but back to normal by March.

So if you are resolving to lose weight, set some goals
to accomplish in the first few weeks of January, and
flesh out plans and strategies for accomplishing them.
Joining a gym is great, but you are more likely to
actually go to the gym if you make plans to exercise
with a workout buddy, or commit to twice-a-week workouts
with a trainer, or buy a pedometer to measure how many
steps you take on the treadmill.


4. Create a plan for slips and setbacks

A strategy for setbacks is just as important as a
strategy for success. People who maintain their NYRs
for at least two years report an average of 14 slips
or setbacks during that time.

The key, of course, is rebounding from setbacks, rather
than letting them snowball into full-blown relapses.
First, try to avoid the all-or-none thinking that
triggers the snowball effect. Then, create a "setback
plan" that you will enact at the first sign of a slip.

For example, try filling in the blank: If I start an
eating binge that will undermine my weight loss
resolution, I will _____ . Examples might include
calling a friend for support, or temporarily distracting
myself by going to a movie.







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Success Scientist Dr. Stephen Kraus has been called a combination of Tony Robbins and Mr. Spock because of his scientific approach to the psychology of success. Steve is author of the highly-acclaimed book, Psychological Foundations of Success: A Harvard-Trained Scientist Separates the Science of Success from Self-Help Snake Oil. Steve has a Ph.D. in social psychology from Harvard University, and can be reached at www.RealScienceOfSuccess.com

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