Do New Year’s Resolutions Actually Work?
Tips on getting new habits to stick this new year.
So it’s that time of the year again. The clock’s ticking, and the countdown is fast approaching. You, out of high hopes or desperation, write up your list of goals for the new year that you’ve been putting off for so long. This new year, you’ll make it work; this time around, it’ll be different. Learn a new language, hit the gym five times a week, eat more vegetables, read more books, yada yada. You can picture yourself achieving every goal with high motivation and expect good results.
But judging by the zeitgeist, it seems like some of us have come to the realization that these New Year’s resolutions, at least for us, don’t work and haven’t ever worked. I personally don’t make my list every January 1st, since I don’t think I will or can just magically conjure up the previously non-existing willpower to do things (that I haven’t done all along) just because humanity decided at one point that this particular rotation of the Earth marks THE NEW YEAR. (I have other ways of achieving my goals without involving the New Year’s, but more on that later.)
But the practice goes on. The less cynical members of us are still hopeful that maybe, MAYBE, this year, you will finally clear out the garage and start on that woodworking project. Maybe, MAYBE, you will finally get around to actually reading the books that sat untouched for months, if not years (I have quite a few of those). And while many of us are holding onto what seem to be statistically and historically unlikely scenarios of us actually checking off our resolutions lists, some of you, (the overachievers of us), somehow, miraculously, and incomprehensibly, pull it off. So I wonder — exactly what percentage of New Year’s resolvers actually succeed with their goals? Or is it all just a mirage that crushes our self-esteem come the third week (or even the third day) of January?
The Research
So I’ve looked up some numbers. First off, multiple studies report that the most popular categories of New Year’s goals that people in the US sign up for relate to: physical health, interpersonal relationships, personal growth, academic results, etc. No surprises there. On whether New Year’s resolutions actually work, study results diverge. One study tracked people’s progress who had weight loss as their New Year’s resolution and found that the resolutions had no effect on their weight. Another study followed people who tried quitting smoking at New Year’s and found that only 11% of the participants became consistent non-smokers. A third and fourth study, however, had slightly more positive outcomes, where 19% and 54.7% of the participants, respectively, kept up with their resolutions until the end of the studies.
Based on these results, we can conclude that making New Year’s resolutions is not as effective as we might wish, since on average, the majority of people who try don’t seem to succeed. However, the last two studies mentioned above had some interesting insights. They reported that people who do succeed in maintaining their resolutions more consistently used self-reward and had more skills necessary to execute the changes than those who failed. The success cases also had reliable social support to help them stick to their resolutions. In addition, participants who made approach-oriented goals (e.g. “I’m going to do well on this test”), rather than avoidance-oriented goals (e.g. “I am NOT going to fail this test”), were more effective at maintaining their resolutions.
The Verdict
On their own, New Year’s resolutions are not the best ways to change our behaviors. However, when equipped with the necessary skills, effective self-rewarding systems, consistent social support, and approach-oriented goals, New Year’s resolutions can make a difference in your life.
My tips for changing habits
As someone who doesn’t make any resolutions at the start of the year, my solution to introducing new habits is to first start the behavioral changes when I feel the utmost need to (and that day, statistically, usually doesn’t fall on January 1st). I then reshape my surroundings and circumstances to make sure that it’s as easy as possible for me to make those behavioral changes. That includes tailoring when I intend to execute that particular behavior, where, with whom, exactly how, etc. You are simply less likely to change your behavioral patterns if your circumstances stay the same as when you had your old habits. I also set goals that are not too difficult for me to achieve without setting the bar too low, something like mid-hanging fruits. These strategies have worked for me and seem to overlap with some of the factors that help people stick to their New Year’s resolutions, according to the studies mentioned above.
So unless you are using New Year’s resolutions as an excuse to indulge your bad habits for a few more days without feeling guilty, all I’m saying is that we can change our habits whenever we want, not just on New Year’s, as long as we set up our lives and minds ready for those changes. So who’s making a list?
