Tricks For Keeping New Year Resolutions
According to a psychologist, the tricks to achieving a New Year resolution could be to break a specific goal into tiny steps and not to focus on the outcomes of not reaching a goal.
It’s believed that less than 25% of Britons who make New Year resolutions will achieve them in 2010 because most people who undertake the task do it in the wrong way, said Professor Richard Wiseman.
Employed by the University of Hertfordshire, Professor Wiseman has studied the behaviours 700 individuals who volunteered for his research and who had made a wide variety of resolutions for the New Year, including popular ones such as stopping smoking, obtaining a certain qualification, keeping fit or beginning a new relationship.
Professor Wiseman claims that most of them failed in their attempts because they applied the wrong approach and were also misguided by self-help books.
He compared the behaviours of both unsuccessful as well as successful resolution “goal-reachers” which resulted in a list of recommendations or tips which help the individual remain on course for making his or her resolutions come true.
He said that one common trait with individuals who failed at their resolutions was dwelling on the negative things which may occur if the goal was not achieved.
Successful achievers, according to Professor Wiseman, had the habit of fragmenting their goals into tiny steps, and also rewarded themselves when every stage was successfully passed.
These individuals also had the habit of sharing their goals with friends and often reminded themselves of their goal’s benefits, and kept track of the progress made.
Professor Wiseman said one of the best techniques appears to be making a plan and sticking to it.
He said that those who had the habit of these techniques were in general 20% more successful than others.