The Top Seven Reasons People Break Their New Year's Resolutions
by: Stephen Kraus
Have you broken your New Year's resolution yet?
If so, you aren't alone. Studies suggest that 20% of resolutions
are broken within the first week of January. At least 80% are
broken within one year, and the actual figure is probably much
higher.
But the big question is: Why?
An even bigger question: What can we do about it?
In this article, we'll explore the top seven reasons for
breaking resolutions, and proven science-based techniques
for avoiding them.
==> #1. All-or-none thinking.
"Resolutions" set us up for failure by luring us into all-or-
none thinking. Most people think in terms of "keeping" their
resolutions, or "breaking" them.
Thinking in black-or-white terms of "success" or "failure" can be
fun as long as you are making good progress. But the joy of
feeling like a "pure success" soon fades with the first minor
setback, and you plunge into feeling like a total failure.
In other words, all-or-none thinking leads to the next cause of
breaking resolutions: the snowball effect.
==> #2. The snowball effect.
We've all experienced the snowball effect: letting a minor lapse
snowball into a major relapse and a total collapse. Because
all-or-none thinking is a major factor, it happens to resolution-
makers all the time.
D'ieters frequently suffer from the snowball effect as well,
because they typically think in terms of being "on" their d'iet,
or "off" it. Any little setback leads them to think that they
have "broken" it, and they pig out.
==> #3. Overlooking progress, and dwelling on setbacks.
The "law of effect" is the most fundamental law in psychology.
It's simple: actions followed by rewards are strengthened and
likely to recur.
It seems obvious, but most people do just the opposite. Study
after study has shown people who try -- and fail -- to make life
changes self-reward too little, and self-punish too much.
Resolutions-makers (and d'ieters) do this all the time. After
two weeks of healthy eating and exercise, for example, they have
an ice cream cone. But instead of rewarding themselves for two
weeks of solid progress, they beat themselves up over their minor
setback.
==> #4. No plan (& bad goal setting & we forget)
These reasons all go together, and they all have the same root
cause.
Most people resolve to do X in the coming year, and don't think
much beyond that. But an annual resolution is too far in the
future to be motivating. You won't be inspired to take action,
or to make a plan and follow through. And because such a distant
goal simply won't show up on your "radar screen," you'll soon
forget about it. Until next New Year's.
(continued...)
The Top Seven Reasons People Break Their New Year's Resolutions
Page 2
About The Author
Harvard-trained psychologist Dr. Stephen Kraus separates the science of success from self-help snake oil. Get his free 7-day Real Science of Success e-course, and report on Becoming More Resilient & Persistent at http://www.RealScienceofSuccess.com.
articles@stevekraus.com
|
|
