It’s that time of year again. This time you’ve decided to quit smoking, stop eating fast food, take a walk everyday, read a novel per week, etc. etc. Statistically speaking, only 8 percent of you will be able to keep these resolutions.
So where’s the problem? First of all, we’re not saying the problem isn’t with you. Sorry. It would be nice if we could blame someone else, but we are the ones who decided on a resolution and then didn’t maintain it (yours truly has been doing that for quite a few years now).
But still, most people fail 92% of what they decide to do. Why is that so different for resolutions? We think the answer is in how resolutions work: If you’re jonesing for a cigarette and have one in a moment of weakness in mid-January, your resolution is over. If you skip a day’s walk, if you don’t get through that novel by the end of the week, then that’s it until next year. We believe this is a problem of incentives, and ripe for a trendy-snazzy Behavioral economics name.
So this year, we propose setting New Year’s Goals rather than New Year’s Resolutions. Your goal could be to get that book published, or make learning CSS your goal. Learn how to do a handstand, or any other achievement you decide upon. This way, you can make a plan with steady progress, rather than a daily/weekly event or denial that just grows tedious after several weeks. And this way, even if you waver for a day or two, you can always jump right back and keep striving toward your goals.
And let us know how you do!
