New Year’s resolutions are common, but even more ubiquitous are jokes about the failure of those resolutions. Nevertheless, we all know that some changes are important, so how can you defy the stereotype and make a successful resolution this year? Help is here in the form of some common wisdom (SMART goals), uncommon research (from John Norcross) and some personal additions on the process of setting goals.
To set the stage, here are some insights from research on New Year’s resolutions by John Norcross and colleagues (found here).
First: Setting goals (or making resolutions) is important. This study found that 46% of those who made a resolution were successful with that change six months later, compared to only 4% of those who did not resolve.
Second: The first few weeks are critical. More than half of those who reported being unsuccessful at six months reported they were already unsuccessful in the first two weeks. Over 70% of those who made it to four weeks also made it to six months successfully.
So what can we offer you to help you make good resolutions and get started successfully?