LONDON (AP) — As the new year dawns, so too does the opportunity for change.
Experts say January can be a good time to reflect on self-improvement, but acknowledge it takes work to make resolutions stick.
Studies have shown that up to 70% of people who make New Year’s resolutions abandon those good intentions within months.
Here are some tips for how to keep those resolutions when your willpower starts to falter.
Start small
Psychologist Lynn Bufka suggests being realistic about any resolutions.
“It’s quite daunting to say that you want to lose 50 pounds and thus, will never eat dessert again,” she said. “It might be more helpful to say, you’re only going to have dessert on the weekends and for special occasions.”
Behavioral health experts recommend breaking ambitious goals into smaller targets, like swapping at least one snack for fruit and vegetables or getting some exercise for 10 minutes every day. Once you start hitting these smaller goals, the bigger one might not seem so daunting.
Think positive
It’s tough to make big changes. Bufka said that simply thinking more positively about what your ultimate goal is — and what you’re gaining from your changed behavior — can bolster your motivation.
“If I put money in a jar for what I would have spent on chocolate every day, that starts to add up.” explained Bufka, deputy chief of research and policy at the American Psychological Association.
Focusing on what the resolution is helping you to accomplish — rather than what you’re being deprived of — can be a powerful way to reframe your thinking, experts say.
Focus on goals
A study of New Year’s resolutions published in 2020 found that people who focus on specific goals are more successful than those simply trying to kick bad habits.
In a group of more than 1,000 people, scientists found the most popular resolutions involved exercise, weight loss and eating habits. Other resolutions focused on self-improvement, personal finance issues and ways to focus on mental health and reduce stress.
Among the 55% of people who said they’d kept their resolutions after one year, nearly 60% of them had made resolutions involving goals versus 47% of those focused on avoiding certain behaviors.
