Jan. 12 is “Quitter’s Day” — when most people give up on their New Year’s resolutions — but you may be able to push through with these tips.
Ayelet Fishbach, professor of behavioral science and marketing at the University of Chicago, said if you have already quit, you probably bit off too much, but you can try again.
“Break your goals into small goals, because this is not natural for us.”
She said people are disciplined in the short-term, but not so much in the long-term.
“Our minds were not evolved to plan for the long run. There was no point for our ancestors to plan for retirement.”
Fishbach said most people who make goals suffer from what’s called the middle problem, “which is the tendency to lose steam after a little while … we start high, if there is an ending, we end high, but we don’t do much in the middle.”
She also recommended staying away from goals that are just about avoidance.
“Set resolutions that are more about what you will be eating, what you will be doing, and less about what you will try and avoid.”
Fishbach said you also have to set goals you are actually excited about doing. Another thing that helps, she said, is putting a number on your resolutions.
“You set a resolution to drink more water, well how much? And when are you going to start the morning with a glass of water? This is much better than, ‘I will try to drink more water.'”
One last tip is to evaluate whether you have the time and space to actually achieve your goals. That may mean you have to drop something you’re doing in order to achieve the new goal.
“If you add something to your plate, something has to go.”
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