7 Most Common New Year Resolutions And Why We Fail To Keep Them
Tired of lying to yourself about the lifestyle changes you resolve to make every time New Year rolls by? Identify the mistakes and make new ones that you'll be able to keep!
By Melody Oei — 26 Dec 2013, 05:02 PM — Updated almost 11 years ago
WHY IT FAILS: Making such a resolution is equivalent of wanting to lift a 150kg weight without any previous training
Your pre-frontal cortex that handles willpower is like a muscle, that needs to be trained. When you set a new year’s resolution, an enormous amount of willpower is required. It’s an amount that your brain simply can’t handle.
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WHY IT FAILS: The common perception of change is associated to loss - people think change means losing something
With a CHANGE = LOSING mindset, we brand ourselves losers before we even begin. We need to perceive a resolution as a new positive habit, reformed habit, or rebuilt habit. And always positive.
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CHANGE IT TO: Meditate for 2-3 minutes every morning after you wake up
WHY IT FAILS: Using guilt or fear as a motivation won't work
Guilt and shame do not work – in fact they are the biggest hinderance you will face. The worse you feel about yourself, the less self efficacy you have. If you think about how bad you feel after eating you’ll eat more.
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WHY IT FAILS: Any abstract goal you have, that is not tied to a specific behaviour is near impossible for your brain to focus on
Making it “instinctual”, which is the crucial aspect, that will help you achieve any new habit, is missing in 90% of all new year’s resolutions, which makes them so likely to fail.
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WHY IT FAILS: A lot of social activities revolve around alcohol and the fun that alcohol brings seem to trump caloric intake and liver protection
Students who beat themselves up for putting off studying put off their studying more. It’s the same with addicts. The worse they feel about a minor lapse, the more likely it turns into a major relapse.
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WHY IT FAILS: Volunteering doesn't only mean going to what are labelled 'third world countries' to build a school
“Volunteering” doesn’t mean going to Nicaragua and building a school, nor does it mean attending every Habitat for Humanity meeting and embarking on a weeklong journey to New Orleans. Anything counts really, for it is better than nothing at all. It’s rare you meet someone who hasn’t been rewarded in some way after their volunteer efforts.
policymic.comCHANGE IT TO: Spend a few hours visiting and helping out at an old folks' home every week
