Make your New Year’s resolution stick

New Year’s resolutions are set with the best of intentions. But most of them fail to make it into February. Is there anything we can do to help them stick?

Each year on 1 January, we swear to make improvements in our life; to lose weight, stop smoking, get fit, save more and so on. But like some self-improvement Groundhog Day, we find ourselves back in exactly the same position on 1 January the following year. It’s not just an anecdotal impression. Studies have shown that almost 80% of New Year’s resolutions last less than six weeks.¹ So why are resolutions so hard to keep?

Will power is not enough

New Year’s resolutions are about trying to break habits, which is hard, but not impossible to do. Studies have found that people who fail to stick to their resolutions tend to rely on will power and suppressing their cravings. They also fantasised about how great it would be if they were able to be successful, and dwelt the down-side of failure.¹ Willpower on it’s own isn’t enough to keep us on track and thinking about failing can just make you feel despondent every time you lapse.

Resolutions often fail because we don’t put in place the things that can really help us. Professor of Behavioural Addiction Mark Griffiths says, “to change your day-to-day behaviour you also have to change your thinking. There are tried and tested ways that can help people stick to their resolutions”.²

Here are some of the tips Professor Griffiths and other behaviour change experts recommend to give your New Year’s resolution the best chance of succeeding.

Make a practical resolution

For instance, if you want to reduce your alcohol intake, don’t immediately go teetotal. Try to cut out alcohol every other day or have a drink once every three days. Breaking up the longer-term goal into manageable short-term goals can be more rewarding and that will encourage you to stick at it.²

Don’t have too many resolutions

If you want to be fitter and healthier, do just one thing at a time. Give up smoking. Join a gym. Eat more healthily. But don’t do them all at once. Just choose one and do your best to stick to it. Once you have got one thing under your control, you can begin a second resolution.²

Make a SMART resolution

That is, make your resolution specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound. Cutting down on alcohol is a good goal, but it’s not SMART. Make it specific, like having no more than two drinks of alcohol every other day for one month.² That is a SMART resolution and you can measure your progress at the end of the month to see how you’ve gone. Other research suggests that maybe setting ‘a range’ for a goal (say planning to lose five to ten kilograms) rather than a specific target (aiming to lose eight kilos) may be more effective.³

Tell someone your resolution

Let family and friends know that you have a New Year’s resolution that you really want to keep. Ask for support from those around you. If they’re good friends, they won’t put temptation in your way.²

Share your resolution with a friend

Setting a goal with friends can help and it’s more fun to do something with a friend. If you and your partner both smoke, it is really hard for one partner to quit if the other is still puffing away.² So try quitting together. One research study found that signing up for a weight loss program with friends and having that support reinforced over time resulted in an increase from 24% to 66% in weight-loss maintenance, compared to signing up alone.³

Don’t give up if you lapse

It’s inevitable that when you’re trying to give up or change something that there will be lapses. Habits form over time and they take time to break. Don’t feel guilty if you give in to temptation. Just accept that it is part of the learning process. Remember, each new day is an opportunity to start afresh and take another step towards achieving your resolution.²

1. The Conversation, This is why you won’t keep your New Year’s resolution, Peter Kinderman
2. The Conversation, The psychology of New Year’s resolutions, Mark Griffiths
3. The Conversation, Time for a reset, Lisa A Williams