Three Ways to Increase Your New Year’s Resolution Success!
It’s that time of year again where we are primed to make changes in our lifestyle to improve our health, wealth, and overall quality of living in the foreseeable future. Some of us will be greatly successful at improving our lives in this way, but nearly half of us will fail at making any lasting changes. In the following study reference, 67% of the New Year’s Resolutions people reported making were related to “Physical Health”, “Weight Loss”, or “Eating”; so we wanted to share it with you. When it comes to these health-related resolutions, what can YOU do to improve your odds at achieving your goals in 2021?
What does the DATA say?
Most people that make New Year’s Resolutions report still being on track after a month (55%), but those numbers decrease after the “fresh start effect” has worn off. By month three, those numbers decrease to 43% and down to 40% by the six month mark. What this means for you is that, as the year progresses, what you resolved to accomplish earlier in the year tends to fade into the background. Only about 44% of people even set New Year’s Resolutions, so simply writing down your goals and putting them somewhere that you see on a regular basis will increase your odds of continuing on the path for longer in the year. “But how much does writing down my goals actually help?” One of the studies reviewed showed that resolvers had a 46% success rate at the six month mark compared to only 4% success rate in those that had not made a resolution to do so. That equates to nearly 12x’s higher success rate, simply by writing down what it is that you want to accomplish so that it remains in your thoughts until it is achieved!
How We Should Make Resolutions
The data from this study as well as those on academic goals in prior studies BOTH show success improving with “approach-based” goals compared to “avoidance-based” goals. This means that making a goal to “lose weight by eating a cup of fibrous veggies at most meals” will lend more success than a goal to “cut out carbs” or other exclusionary goals. Make “SMART” (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely) goals instead of fear-based avoidance goals, so that your journey is one that you can enjoy! This study showed an 11.8% improvement in success from increased focus on approach compared to avoidance focus, so consider that in creating your SMART goals for the year.
What Support System Should I Use?
The study divided participants into three groups: “no support”, “some support”, and “extended support” to determine the level of support was preferred for optimal results. In the two support groups, 12 monthly follow-ups occured during the year, while the no support group only followed up once quarterly. Further information and 
adherence exercises were given to the some support and extended support groups one and four times that year respectively. What they found was that the “some support” group that was instructed to identify an accountability partner that was made aware of their goals and how they intended to get there had a higher success rate than either of the other two groups. For most of us, this means that we shouldn’t keep our goals and plans to ourselves when it comes to achieving positive health outcomes. We should share that information with others we know will hold us accountable to our word, and not just settle for “doing it ourselves” or “getting more information” as we procrastinate along the way. There of course are individual personality differences that determine which approach and frequency would work best for you, so if you haven’t taken our Heroic Health Identity Quiz, you can do so for further insights on which style would work best for you.
Conclusion
This study and the others that the authors reviewed allowed us to create a simple template for increasing our success odds in 2021 with our New Year’s Resolutions. First, we must create SMART resolutions that are approach-oriented rather than exclusionary to make the journey enjoyable. Second, we must commit these resolutions to paper and put them in places that we are going to see them consistently throughout the year to keep us on track. And, lastly, we must usually recruit external support from an accountability partner/professional so that we keep our promises to ourselves to succeed! Follow these three simple steps to increase your odds of success and become the healthier YOU that you desire in 2021.
If you would like help with setting up SMART goals specific to your physiology, check out our Health Atlas article and book your appointment with us today!
Your Health…Our Expertise…Oracle Health
The Oracle
Reference:
