We probably didn’t need scientists to actually come up with a figure (80% failure rate!) to know that New Year’s resolutions don’t stick around. The key to change is not making some grand declaration of an ideal, that this is the year you’re going to lose x number of pounds, stop procrastinating, find Princess Charming, or any of these popular resolutions. Resolutions are often too abstract or unrealistic that they’re almost easy to ignore.
Instead, build a habit! Forming habits slowly can be much more effective. You can start with baby steps, like drinking water instead of soda, attaining small successes and rewards that will build up until voila, habit! The conscious creation of a habit also allows you to experiment to see what works best for you without feeling like you’ve failed the overall intention of, say, daily exercise if you find that running that extra quarter mile just isn’t for you.
The ever-helpful Zen Habits has great tips on building habits: make it enjoyable, commit to only one habit at a time, and harness the power of a social network. Make that habit merrier with more company and yourself more motivated by others’ experiences.
Make a habit for the New Year with I Done This! Tell us your New Year’s Habit and we’ll match you up with people building similar habits. We’ll keep you on track with a nightly email reminder. Just reply with what you did. The next morning, you’ll get an email with what your team did to keep that habit-flame burning, and you’ll be on your way to long term-change slowly but surely.
You should sign-up here.