New Year’s resolutions

What increases the chances of succeeding?

In the Pennsylvania study we mention above, the scientists found no link between success rate and participants’ sex or age; similarly, the type of resolution did not influence how likely they were to succeed.

The researchers contacted participants by telephone after 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, and 2 years.

During these interviews, the researchers also asked participants what techniques they used to help them keep their resolutions, and how often they implemented each one.

They found that the most successful resolvers were applying stimulus control at all five checkpoints.

Stimulus control is the act of keeping things around you that remind you why you chose the resolution.

For instance, someone who is quitting smoking might keep a picture of their young child nearby to remind them why they decided to stop.

At the 6-month and 2-year mark, successful resolvers were using self-liberation (or willpower), and reinforcement management — rewarding themselves for being successful.

Conversely, individuals who did not keep their resolutions most commonly employed self-blame and wishful thinking.

The study we highlighted above that followed the fates of 153 smokers also looked at factors that made quitting more likely. The authors explain:  “The use of multiple strategies for cessation was associated with abstinence at the 2-year follow-up. A strong motivation to quit was found to be important for both initial success and long-term maintenance.”

Other studies that have investigated smoking cessation more generally have identified factors that increase the chance of quitting. These factors include staying away from smokey environments, abstaining from alcohol, stress management techniques, and will power.

Another paper took a different approach. Publishing their work in the `Journal of Clinical Psychology’, the authors set out to understand why some people succeeded where others failed.

To do this, they recruited two sets of participants: 159 New Year’s resolvers and 123 people who were interested in solving a problem at a later date. The researchers followed the participants for 6 months and charted their successes and failures.

In agreement with other studies, the most common reasons for New Year’s resolutions were losing weight, increasing exercise, and quitting smoking.

The authors found that the most successful resolvers used more willpower, stimulus control, reinforcement management, positive thinking, and avoidance strategies.

Conversely, those who were less successful tended to use more wishful thinking, blame and criticise themselves, and make light of the problem.

Ending on a high

Some of the results above might cast a shadow across ambitions to make a change in 2020, but they shouldn’t.

The authors of the study above made some overarching conclusions that should boost the confidence of any New Year’s resolver:”Resolvers reported higher rates of success than nonresolvers; at 6 months, 46% of the resolvers were continuously successful compared to 4% of the nonresolvers.”

So, although the cards might be stacked against anyone who makes a New Year’s resolution, simply by making that resolution, you have boosted your odds of success.

According to this data, forming a New Year’s resolution increases your chances of generating change more than 10-fold.

The authors write that, “Contrary to widespread public opinion, a considerable proportion of New Year resolvers do, in fact, succeed, at least in the short run.”

In conclusion, New Year’s resolutions do not work for everyone. But, as the saying goes, “you’ve got to be in it to win it.” According to the findings of these studies, the best approach is to keep things around you to remind you why you want to make those changes. Also, reward yourself for successes, and stay motivated. Throw a healthful dose of willpower into the seasonal mix, and you are likely to succeed. Good luck!

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Source: Medical News