Why do most well intended new Year's Resolutions Fail?
Posted on February 10, 2018 by Gerry Hansen, One of Thousands of Executive Coaches on Noomii.
Your brain can’t handle New Year’s resolutions and here is why.
New Year’s resolutions are generally designed based on what I call the “Try Harder Model,” which combines insight with action, and a dose of willpower. Unfortunately, the Try Harder Model is seldom sufficient to make lasting change because it is a vague aspiration and these types of resolutions don’t work well with our human brain. According to a recent study, if you make a New Year’s resolution this year you have an 88% chance of failure.
Don’t be discouraged and don’t stop reading yet…I am going to share a strategy that will increase the probability of success.
Design ONE new habit over time
There is scientific evidence that indicates that your brain can’t handle New Year’s resolutions because your prefrontal cortex is the center of willpower and it is a muscle that needs to be trained. The prefrontal cortex is also responsible for staying focused, handling short-term memory and solving abstract tasks, so it is a muscle that is busy performing daily functions. If you decide to make a New Year’s resolution and want to be successful, there are several things to consider.
1. Pick one resolution that is important to you.
2. Break it down into phases over a few months.
3. Write it down and tell others what you want to change. Let them know how they can support you and hold you accountable.
4. Reward yourself to increase your chance of success.
Research shows that to develop a new habit it will require daily repetitions over some period of time before the behavior becomes a “habit.” If you Google the question, “How long does it take to form a habit?” you will probably get an answer of around three weeks. However, the European Journal of Social Psychology found that 21 days may be reasonable for something like drinking more water each day, but most changes in habit take anywhere from 18-254 days and if you break it down into phases (baby steps) you have a much higher probability of success.
For instance, if you want to make a New Year’s resolution to sustain a daily practice of meditation, here is how you will want to design your resolution.
• Start with 10 minutes a day for two months and set your goal for three days a week.
• In the third month, keep your daily practice at 10 minutes a day and increase your goal to 5 days a week.
• Increase your goal every two months until you have achieved a daily practice of one hour daily.
